2022 Tonga Ashfall Response
Infographics
It was a catastrophic event that launched one Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCoRE scholar more rapidly into the field of disaster response than he’d anticipated. A day after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption in January 2022, Matt Smith-Luani was called upon to help.
With ash falling in Tonga, there was an urgent need to communicate safety precautions for the Tongan diaspora in Aotearoa New Zealand who were mobilising support for their families, as well as the local Tongan population. Matt, via his supervisor Associate Professor Siautu Alefaio, found himself communicating with volcanologists, disaster managers, and Tongan community leaders who were working out how to get information to people on the ground in an accessible manner. Matt’s training in graphic design enabled him to come up with an effective infographic for the ashfall advice.
The Design Response
With a 48-hour turnaround to produce design work that would be utilised in Tonga, I had to think quickly, create efficiently, and develop work that was simple, effective, and easy to understand.
My approach was to find an effective way to communicate important information to communities in Tonga through design. Given the amount of information that needed to be communicated, I chose to use infographics as a clear and accessible way to present the content.
From there, I focused on specific areas of design that would allow me to work efficiently while ensuring the final outcome remained clear, engaging, and culturally relevant.
The key focus areas for the design were:
Finding layout inspiration
Font and colour
Cultural relatability
