Turning Clinical Content into an Accessible Public Message

The Challenge

**Original PowerPoint screenshot:** Dense, technical slides filled with charts and data intended for clinical staff—not for veterans or their families. The information lacked clarity and included unnecessary details that would overwhelm the target audience.

The original PowerPoint was created for an internal clinical audience and contained dense, overly technical content that wouldn’t resonate with veterans and their families—the intended public outreach audience. On top of that, I was given a tight one-day turnaround to transform the content into clear, engaging, and accessible materials, including a trifold brochure and a poster that complied with 508 accessibility standards.

The Strategy

This wasn’t just graphic design—it was about message clarity and public communication.

I met with the client to understand their goals:

What are we trying to communicate?
Who exactly are we talking to?
What action do we want them to take?

From there, I developed a simple outreach strategy:
→ Rework the language for clarity
→ Highlight benefits, not processes
→ Design with accessibility and readability in mind

Content Reframing

I used ChatGPT as a collaborative assistant to translate clinical terms into plain language and restructure the content for outreach.

The rewrite focused on:

Simplifying the tone
Focusing on benefits and services
Making sure every section was reader-friendly and inviting

Accessibility & 508 Compliance

Because this was a federal/public-facing project, it had to meet Section 508 compliance:

✅ 6th–8th grade reading level
✅ High-contrast color palette
✅ Clear layout and visual hierarchy
✅ Accessible typography
✅ Design that considers readers with disabilities

Final Design Execution

Once the messaging was finalized, I created a clean, modern layout that worked across both a trifold brochure and poster.

Key design elements:

Easy-to-follow sections
Bold headings and callouts
Icons to support quick scanning
Friendly but respectful tone

The result was a design that felt professional and welcoming, while also meeting compliance standards.

The Outcome

What started as a clinical PowerPoint evolved into an effective outreach campaign. The final deliverables were:

Visually engaging
Clear and accessible
Fully 508-compliant
Strategically aligned with the audience's needs
Created a take “How to care for your skin at home” checklist for veterans

Takeaway

This project highlights a critical aspect of design:

“Design is the intermediary between information and understanding.” - Richard Grefé, former Executive Director of AIGA

By acting as a communications strategist and not just a graphic designer, I created materials that were not only visually polished—but truly purposeful.

Veterans Outreach Campaign