RAFI Microfinance, Inc. (RAFI MFI) is a program under the Economic Well-Being Cluster of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) that seeks to empower micro-entrepreneurs all across the Philippines. We helped them craft visuals for the NegosYou training modules to deliver an informative yet enjoyable reading experience.
scope of work
Creative Direction
Illustration
Character Design
Key Visuals
design team
Frances Enriquez
Jane Sayson
Emem Seno
special thanks
Morgan Tornilla
Kenneth Hicks
RAFI MFI’s goal for the modules was to provide practical, actionable information, boost financial literacy, and nurture a business mindset in their clients: traditional mom and pop entrepreneurs (lovingly referred to as Nanays and Tatays) who built their businesses from scratch, most of whom with little to no formal business education.
As part of our research and design process, we met with the RAFI MFI team to understand what challenges their clients faced with the modules. They revealed that the most common concern raised in Focus Group Discussions was feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by text-heavy material. To address this, we focused on creating distinctive visuals that would evoke curiosity and make the educational content of the modules as approachable and engaging as possible.
Clear and bright infographics were designed to enhance each module’s effectiveness as an educational tool. This involved using contrasting colors and various design elements to visually break down the information into more easily digestible chunks. Additional graphic elements such as minimal icons were created to visually reinforce the content and mark each section of the module based on their respective learning objectives.
In one of these sections, a comic was used to contextualize the concepts within the module in an entertaining and relatable way. We took charge of paneling/storyboarding, character design, and illustration. Hand-drawn characters and illustrations paired with a bold color palette give the module a sense of familiarity, while capturing genuine enthusiasm.
Lastly, it was important to our client that the modules be able to serve as long-term reference material. So, careful consideration was given to the printed nature of the final output. We chose to use bright, highly saturated colors that would be able to withstand a considerable amount of wear and tear and encourage the Nanays and Tatays to come back to the information in the modules as many times as needed.
After designing 2 NegosYou modules we were invited back to continue work on their third series. RAFI MFI has always been committed to supporting their clients throughout the entire course of their business journey. This extended collaboration allows us to support them in turn, utilizing creativity to make each NegosYou module a truly transformational learning experience.
“We received good feedback from clients because their promotional content and the graphics were very reader-friendly, considering our clients are an average of 30–40 years old. Overall, their output was great.”
Dafnie Relampagos, Client Training & Development Specialist, RAFI Microfinance