Year
2022
Year
2022
Overview
Menstrual poverty, lack of access to hygiene products, taboo and limited knowledge disseminated on the topic - these are the driving forces behind Vazou!, a multi-faceted project, idealized for execution in conjunction with the City of Rio de Janeiro and the brands Pantys and Always, with the general objective of amplifying the fight against menstrual poverty throughout the city.
Team
Carolina Aranha [designer], Lucas Tadeu [designer] and Nicolle Felix [designer]
Recognitions
Bronze in the category "Social Service Design" at Brazil Design Awards 2022
In the sixth semester of university, we had the subject of Project VI – about
Service Design – and Anthropology, which required us to have an integrated
project.
The main focus of this project was to understand the necessities of a group of
people – chosen by each group of students – through different methods of
research and create a service to solve this problem.
My group and I decided to pursue one of two approaches: menstrual poverty
or indigenous people in the city.
After some desk research, we chose the menstrual poverty path, focusing on
three main pillars: family planning, public gynecology,
and menstrual poverty itself.
The challenge was then set: how could we improve the lives of those
experiencing menstrual poverty?
To help us solve the problem, we conducted extensive desk research and field research, including using a field notebook. We visited the public clinic Frei Caneca in a marginalized area of Rio de Janeiro to talk to people directly impacted by the problem.
Throughout the research phase, the entire team, including myself, was involved in ideating and identifying the root of the problem.
After the research, we needed to understand how to tackle the problem. We conducted "How Might We" sessions, brainstorms, and idea exploration with the entire team.
With the ideation and research phase complete, we moved on to integrating all the ideas into the graphic and other aspects. I helped figure out the basic logistics and capital viability of the project, mapped the journey of all stakeholders involved, and developed the graphic assets for the products and advertisements.
The outcome of all the research and ideation was “Vazou”, a project idealized to be
done with Rio de Janeiro's city hall and the brands Pantys and Always.
The project would come together with five different subprojects:
TPM (“Todos
Podem Menstruar” or Everyone can Menstruate): Monthly distribution of tampons for
people who menstruate and who are logged in the public clinic system. The main
points of distribution would be in those public clinics or in the vans “Segue o Fluxo”
(Follow the Flow) which would have instructive and educational follow-ups about how
to use the products. Note: TPM stands for PMS.
De RePantys: This part was to generate more capital for the project, with many dispensers
dispersed throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro for selling different types of items for
menstruation such as tampons, tissue tampons, absorbent panties, and others.
Segue o Fluxo (Follow the Flow): Vans with restrooms annexed to support people
who do not have a place for proper menstrual hygiene. According to the information
provided by public clinics and their health agents, the vans would follow a schedule and
a route throughout the city of Rio.
Horta do Seu Chico (Mr. Chico's Garden): A vegetable garden fertilized with
processed and curated organic tampons collected by the project. This would be an
action to take in a more advanced stage of the project because it would require more
investment in research, logistics, and engagement of people. Note: Chico is a
nickname for the name Francisco and also a popular term for menstruation.
#QuebraEsseCiclo (#BreakThisCycle): A hashtag for our advertisements (online and
offline) and for the whole campaign, aimed at breaking the taboo surrounding
menstruation and it being seen as a disgusting thing, promoting the idea that
it is a normal organic cycle.