KredX Collections
Designing Equitable Service Systems in Times of Crisis
Role
Service Design Researcher, Branding, Video Creation, Storyboarding, Scriptwriting
Team
Global representatives from India, Poland, UK, California
Time Spent
3 months ( Research to Exhibit to Documentation )
Overview
Designing for those left behind during a global pandemic. This case study presents the Inclusive Pandemic Response Blueprint—an award-winning service design initiative conceptualized during UMO 2021. Rooted in human-centered and systems thinking, the project addresses how public services failed to reach vulnerable groups during COVID-19. This blueprint reimagines pandemic services such as information, vaccination, and aid to ensure that no one is left out—especially the elderly, low-income families, the disabled, and those without digital access.
Problem Definition
Uncovering systemic exclusions in emergency service delivery
1. The Unequal Impact of the Pandemic
While everyone was affected by COVID-19, not everyone was affected equally. Digital dependency, language barriers, complex bureaucracy, and inaccessible policies excluded large swaths of the population from receiving timely help.
2. Core Design Challenge
How might we reimagine pandemic-related services so they include the most marginalized citizens—those who lack smartphones, live in informal settlements, or face language and literacy barriers?
Research & Discovery
Human-centered and systems research to understand lived realities. We combined deep qualitative research with systems mapping to understand both user struggles and structural bottlenecks.
Primary Research
We conducted remote interviews and ethnographic probes with elderly individuals, migrant families, NGO health workers, community volunteers, and government call center staff.
Secondary Research
We reviewed health service protocols, digital inclusion frameworks, and accessibility standards across India and globally.
Stakeholder Ecosystem Mapping
We mapped public health authorities, local governance, NGOs, tech service providers, and community-level actors. This uncovered gaps in service flow and communication chains.
Insights & Synthesis
What we learned from people’s stories and the service ecosystem
Key Insights
People with no digital access were effectively invisible to digital-first policies. Language barriers and literacy mismatches blocked even well-intentioned aid. Community leaders played a pivotal role as informal support channels. Existing systems failed at the intersections such as online scheduling and ID proof requirements.
Personas
We created empathy-driven personas such as Meena, a 70-year-old woman who can’t read or use a smartphone, and Arif, a migrant worker without documentation.
Journey Maps & Blueprints
We studied the full service experience from both user and system perspectives, making invisible gaps visible.
User Journey Maps
We mapped out the experience of different personas across three pandemic phases: before (awareness and access), during (testing, diagnosis, vaccination), and after (recovery, support, follow-up). We annotated each step with thoughts, emotions, and pain points.
Service Blueprinting
We overlaid frontstage user-facing and backstage system-facing interactions to understand breakdowns. Each step’s role was mapped, revealing delays, data silos, and resource misallocations.
Ideation & Concept Development
Workshop & Brainstorming
We held design sprints and workshops with stakeholders to generate ideas collaboratively.
Design Principles
From insights, we distilled key principles such as an offline-first approach, multilingual and multi-format communication, policy as a design tool, and local trust-building.
Key Concepts Developed
Community Health Kiosks for offline service access, a Volunteer Outreach App for NGO workers, an Inclusive Communication Toolkit using SMS, radio, and print, and a Policy Redesign Framework to remove exclusions.
Prototyping & Testing
We translated ideas into tangible artifacts and refined them through real-world testing.
Prototypes Built
We created wireframes of the volunteer app, storyboards for community kiosks, flyers and translated materials, and policy decision trees.
Testing & Feedback
We conducted remote usability walkthroughs with NGO partners and scenario testing with users from low-literacy and low-digital-access backgrounds.
Iteration Process
Based on feedback, we simplified flows, increased visual elements, and made offline processes central.
Final Solution Blueprint
A scalable, inclusive pandemic service model.
System View
We delivered an integrated service blueprint with touchpoints, tools, actors, policies, and data flow.
Operational Flow
The blueprint shows how health departments, kiosks, call centers, and volunteers synchronize to reach even the most underserved populations.
Delivery Toolkit
We included printable guides, policy redesign templates, translation kits, and digital-access alternatives.
Outcomes & Impact
Designing for equity changes lives—and systems by introducing both the immediate and potential long-term systemic impact.
What Changed
We created frameworks for truly inclusive digital services, influenced thinking around policy-as-design, provided ready-to-use blueprints to NGOs, and were recognized by UMO Design X Social Awards.
Ripple Effects
Stakeholders reported deeper awareness of hidden exclusions. NGO partners started using the toolkit in community vaccination drives.
Reflections & Learnings
Designing for equity changes lives—and systems by introducing both the immediate and potential long-term systemic impact.
Key Takeaways
Designing policy is as critical as designing UI. Inclusivity must be baked in from day one. Community-led solutions sustain impact. Blueprints make service breakdowns actionable.
What’s Next
This project is a living document. With further collaboration, it can evolve into a replicable crisis-response toolkit for other regions or emergencies.
Let’s Connect
"This case study shares an overview of my design process and impact at a high level. Some details have been kept brief to respect the nature of the work. If you’d like to learn more about this project or discuss my approach in greater depth, feel free to reach out—I’d be glad to share more in conversation."