Edge Effect
Edge Effect supports development and humanitarian organisations to include people with diverse SOGIESC in research—without putting anyone at greater risk. They were developing a guidance document to help practitioners move beyond “it’s too hard”, balancing visibility in data with the real-world safety implications of working in hostile or mixed-safety contexts.
We partnered with them to design a publication that could hold that tension: serious and authoritative, but readable and genuinely usable—something people would bookmark and return to when they’re making decisions under pressure.
Project Team
Editorial Design: Vivika Chugh
The Challenge
The work had to do two things at once: raise the stakes (“this matters”) while also lowering the barrier to action (“you can do this safely and responsibly”). That meant translating complex ethical principles into a clear, practical structure—without simplifying the nuance, or turning lived experience into a checkbox exercise.
It also meant designing with context and safety in mind. The team’s preference was for a tone that felt grown-up, minimal, and confident—avoiding visual cues that could read as performative or increase visibility in places where being “under the radar” can be important.
What We Did
We started with a discovery session and aesthetic direction, grounding the visual approach in Edge Effect’s goals for tone, clarity, and how the guide should feel in someone’s hands.
From there we designed a suite of visual elements to support the guidance, including graphics that help explain key concepts clearly. We also developed the editorial system for the full document—typography, hierarchy, layout and page architecture—built to work equally well on screen and in print.
Across the design, we prioritised a clear hierarchy so readers can skim, pause, and re-enter easily; layout decisions that support comprehension in long-form reading, with generous spacing and consistent navigation cues; and a visual tone that feels credible and calm—inviting people in, without softening the urgency of the subject.
Impact
The result is a guide that makes ethical, SOGIESC-responsive research feel more possible in practice. By combining a clear editorial structure with accessible visual explanations, the publication supports readers to understand the core principles quickly, apply them to real research decisions step-by-step, and hold safety and inclusion together rather than treating them as competing goals.
Just as importantly, the design establishes a reusable foundation—giving Edge Effect a robust visual system they can build on for future publications and resources.
