At QUT (Queensland University of Technology) the Impact Lab 2 is a unit of study that many students undertake as a part of their design courses. Its purpose is to explore and address how designers can use their skills to create social impacts and positive change. Furthermore, it looks to help students understand how they can approach designing in social and community-based contexts. This is achieved through weekly classes, lectures, and challenges as well as a three-day design intensive. This design intensive involves multi-disciplinary groups of students collaborating to design a solution to a brief provided by the groups chosen organization.
For this project in particular, our group chose the organization called A Brave Life. They are an incredibly inspiring group of people who are providing support to vulnerable young mothers who may be experiencing hardships and adversity. Their support is currently for vulnerable 'young' mothers and spans throughout their full perinatal period.
As a result, the design brief that was provided to our group was, "how might A Brave Life meaningfully connect with vulnerable mums & communities in rural and regional Australia to ensure ongoing support during the first two years?"
Overall, our solution of A Brave Life: On the Road and Online is a support and educational service that can be integrated into this wonderful organization.
It includes a van which would travel with members of A Brave Life to rural and regional communities where local vulnerable mothers would be able to speak with experts face-to-face. This would help to bridge the current gap between the organization and the women whom they are helping as well improve their reach into remote communities.
The second component of this solution is the application. This app would give mothers the wonderful opportunity to stay connected with A Brave Life when it is otherwise not possible to uphold their physical in-person connection. Furthermore, it would be a platform for new mothers to access vital resources and educational information about motherhood and help reduce the confusion and fear surrounding this beautiful time in their lives.
To conclude, we certainly believe that our design would help A Brave Life improve their meaningful connections with vulnerable mothers in rural and regional Australia and ensure that these connections last a long time.
