Karel van der Waarde is an information designer based in Belgium. His projects often focus on medication information that is given to patients by doctors and pharmacists. Karel teaches about information design to audiences worldwide. He is active in many professional associations including the International Institute for Information Design (IIID). He also was part of the team that developed the 2023 International ISO standards for plain language (ISO 24495).

Listen as Karel van der Waarde talks with Helen Osborne about:

• Is health literacy essentially about the ability of people or the ability of information? How health literacy often goes beyond these binary choices. Context and everyday distractions should also be considered.
• The importance of designing materials with people who will use this information. This process starts by learning about their needs and continues through user testing to measure effectiveness.
• Tips and resources for clinicians, designers, community agencies, and everyone who wants to clearly communicate about health.

More ways to learn:

• Karel van der Waarde
• “Enabling patients by listening to them,” a TEDxHSLU talk by Karel van der Waarde
• International Institute for Information Design (IIID)
• ISO plain language standard, from the International Plain Language Federation
• “Using Design to Get Readers to Read and Keep Reading,” a Health Literacy Out Loud podcast interview with Karen Schriver
• “How Visual Cues Help Readers Read,” a Health Literacy Out Loud podcast interview with Josiah Fisk

 Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Third Edition, by Helen Osborne. The chapters “Document Design” and “Plain Language” are especially relevant to this podcast.

Read a transcript of this podcast.

The post Discussing Health Literacy with an Information Designer (HLOL #259) appeared first on Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast.