A translation service that empowers refugees
Refugee translation
service design
A service that connects businesses seeking translation with refugees who can earn income with their language skills
A pro-bono project in partnership with Hyper Island students to design a digital service enabling refugees to generate income online by using their translation skills.
Our work included:
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Research and insight
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Design facilitation with partners
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Ideation workshops
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Visual design
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Business model design and strategy
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Concept and user testing
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Strategic product roadmap
Discovery
Over 60 million people worldwide are forced to become refugees – income and resettlement is a complex challenge. We explored opportunities to empower refugees to use their skills to achieve self-sufficiency
Field research and expert interviews provided three key insights:
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Refugees are entrepreneurs, teaching themselves skills in different areas
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Refugees own digital devices, including smartphones
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Refugees are talented linguists, often speaking at least two languages
Approach
Four weeks of discovery research and a design sprint enabled us to test and validate our hypotheses remotely with displaced people in Uganda
The challenging design context required a cost-effective way to test initial concepts. We simulated a real translation service through the Messenger app with six people in Nakivale refugee camp in a week.
We collaborated with refugee camp staff and refugees, implementing a convenient payment system to ensure remuneration for their participation.
Impact
The U-able service prototype connects businesses in need of quick translations with linguistically skilled refugees
The concept received positive feedback from UNHCR and attracted attention from SXSW and the Huffington Post.
Highlights
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The U-able app is designed to work offline, digest information into clear and straightforward bite-sized parts, and include review and feedback features
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The client-facing platform allows clients to upload files for translation and have a meaningful impact on people’s lives while ticking off translation jobs from their to-do list
