Designing visual diagrams to explain how to access public online services to vulnerable audiences: insights from a field experience in Italy

Accessing online services provided by the public administration is now essential to fully participate in the life of modern societies. For some categories of users, however, this can be a complex task especially if they face language, cultural or digital barriers. These users can be supported by informational materials that explain in a simple way how to use these online services. This article describes a field experience in which visual diagrams were created as an information support for accessing public digital services for employment, training, health and public transportation. The activity was conducted according to a user-centered design approach that involved domain stakeholders and the target users - migrants who recently immigrated to Italy (considered "extreme users" in this scenario) -through user testing that gained insights. that might also prove to be beneficial for other vulnerable users.