Fake for real

Track: Professional
Team: Fabrique
Brief E: to confront with the consequences

 

About No Minor Thing

What can designers do to help combat sexual exploitation of children? That is the question posed by WDCD in collaboration with the Dutch Public Prosecutions Service (OM) and the Ministry of Justice & Security in an invitation-only design challenge.

In No Minor Thing: The What Design Can Do Challenge to Combat Sexual Exploitation of Children, selected design teams had the opportunity to come up with new ways of tackling this issue. Read more on the results of the project and approach of Fabrique.

About fake for real

This idea consists of creating a system of fake ads and landing pages that can track and gather data on ‘casual’ sex offender behaviour, but also provide help and awareness to the target group. As soon as the user confirms his/her interest in the fake ad, the ad platform redirects visitors towards awareness and help options.

Read more on this project on the No minor thing platform >

What was it like to participate in No Minor Thing?
‘We liked to participate not only because of the subject. There are a lot of different ways to approach the theme “no minor thing”. The complexity and the difficulties we face here to make a difference, are challenges that we gladly take on as a design agency. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (DPPS) and What Design Can Do offered the possibility at several occasions to evaluate our ideas with specialists in the field. This way of working proved to be invaluable to form our concept. Later on when the concept became more concrete, the OM was able to bring us in contact with existing initiatives in the field. If our proposal has potential to be realized in the future, it is very important to have these partners on board to make the next step towards realization.’

 

‘The success of an idea lays in its ability to inscribe itself within this context. Do we need to be effective or do we need to be innovative? ‘

While working on this project, what has caught you by surprise the most?
‘As with any new design subject we needed to familiarize ourselves with it. During this process we became aware of how complex the world of sexual exploitation really is. But also we became aware of, how difficult it is, to make a difference.
There is a surprising amount of different initiatives that work as separate entities and try to contribute to solving the problem of sexual exploitation. We saw from early on that, if these parties would work more often together, this would probably have a very positive effect on the outcome of their effort.’

What role do you attribute to design when it comes to this type of social issue?
‘When dealing with social problems design and communication can definitely spark the game and come up with a great new way of thinking. Nevertheless, in the case of this very specific subject, where the ethical question and juridical restrictions are quite high and problematic, we believe the role of design is more supportive. In the context of the plurality of initiatives, we think the designer should be the bridge to bring them together and value them in what they have to offer. The success of an idea lays in its ability to inscribe itself within this context. Do we need to be effective or do we need to be innovative?’
 
Do you intend to continue the project once the challenge is over?
‘After the closure of the challenge, we would like to go on, nevertheless, because it is a collaborative approach we would need all parties on board to guarantee the success of our ideas. When we go from idea to implementation, it becomes a real project so we will need to discuss budget, deliverables and roles for each party.’

Want to know more about No Minor Thing? Go to the PLATFORM>

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