Making a difference in time of COVID19.
Now that remote work is kind of mainstream and obligatory here in Portugal, how can we all contribute to this #COVID19PT fight without hindering the spread of precise and accurate information?
My answer? Find a good group and initiatives to volunteer in.
Remember to practice moderation when consuming this great amount of information and always be true to your craft.
That’s why I’ve invested my off-office and also now my on-office time to a few initiatives, since the company I work in Cocoon Experience also joined the initiative Tech4Covid19 and we’ve been involved in some projects.
This past weekend I speed designed a website for VOST.PT, in which I’m a digital volunteer, that was embraced by many very talented volunteer developers in a co-project with the Portuguese Government, to launch a unique website in which all digital able citizens could read and inform themselves about the exceptional measures that the Portuguese Government had and is placing into action to contain the spread of COVID-19 in our country.
“A combined effort between government decision makers and citizens, to the benefit of everyone. A true example of altruism, openness, and civic duty, that opens the doors to other kind of cooperation with the objective of having a public administration that is more transparent, more effective, and more in touch with the real concerns of common citizens in a time of crisis and/or emergency”
— Jorge Gomes, VOST.PT co-founder.
The main goal
Have access to as much credible and reliable information on the exceptional measures and how to go about them in one single website.
There has been a lot of misinformation around, and to have a fountain of truth is both a relief and a necessity. So that was the main goal.
Structure — Information Architecture
So I had to create a structure really quick, and adapt it to the feedback that was being to our main developer in this initiative Tomahock given through our connections. I wanted to build visual and malleable assets as quickly as possible so as to enable developers to get it on and working.
So this image bellow is one of the first versions of the information architecture that took on this tiny beast, with the input of many.
Segmented to inform, deliver and educate.
Of course that with so much back and forth, quick decision making plenty of ideas and sections began to shrink. The main goal is to inform and in these types of situations perfect is the enemy of delivery. We as designers have to choose wisely what and how to deliver these assets and take into consideration that these sites need an ongoing iterative structure.
And once they’re out of our hands they will have a life of their own.
The modular responsive ready user interface
After the careful structuring and design, making sure that assets — colors, icons, icon fonts, images, logic interaction, were easily available to developers and designers alike it was ready to fly.
And once they’re out of our hands they will have a life of their own.
— Vanessa Silva, Lead Designer.
While volunteering at VOST.PT we tend to share streams of projects, in this case Francisco Frutuoso, a fellow multi talented designer, took in his hands the monumental task to translate the information architecture and overall sections into an app.
“Flutter Portugal’s developers, some of them also volunteers at VOST Portugal, have been working tirelessly to deliver an Android/iOS app with all the information contained in the main website. A passionate and professional team, that not only has the technological knowledge, but also has its heart in the right place, that fully aligns with VOSTPT’s spirit”
— Jorge Gomes, VOST.PT co-founder.
More on that later ;)
Development that loves open source
An extensive, dedicated and fun to work with group of people that aims to give to society in a way that most cannot do during regular work hours.
So you can imagine the faces of dedication and contentment after the launch of the website.
“Using the latest available technologies such as WordPress allowed us to seamlessly develop a fully fledged website containing crucial information to our citizens and its JSON API for iOS/Android Apps.
While WordPress is a CMS commonly used for Blogs, it’s one of the most flexible systems we have ever used. Plus, it’s Opensource.
Hey, we LOVE Opensource, you may check our GitHub repositories here.
— Miguel Varela — IT Advisor
The outcome
Currently, as I write this piece, it is a live website dedicated to inform, educate and orient Portuguese citizens, both locally and abroad.
It is a ongoing website, as live as the effects of the pandemic in our country.
You can check it out here: www.covid19estamoson.gov.pt
So you see, volunteering in times of need is of exceptional value.
Together we can make a positive reinforced difference, specially when our lives and the lives of our loved ones take such an impact.
You’ll be better for it.
Thank yous
I tried to get the ok to have their names here, some are a bit shy and also the collective motto is: “Working for Invisibility, Always With Transparency.”
Jorge Gomes, VOST.PT co-founder.
João Pina, Tomahock extraordinaire.
Miguel Varela, IT Advisor @ VOST.PT
Mário Santos, PPTO @ VOST.PT 😂
Francisco Frutuoso, Designer @ VOST.PT
Alexandre Lezón, Social Media Manager @VOST.PT
