Mistranslations

Not-For-Profit

It’s 2021; it’s COVID. At a time when good communication is critical, confusion reigns.

In a world of misinformation, how can we communicate with genuine care?

Services

Identity design, campaign, exhibition design and curation, fundraising

Google Translate isn’t good enough

In the early stages of the pandemic, media reported that some official Australian COVID-19 messaging had been translated using Google Translate instead of accredited translators. Nonsensical messaging for non-English speaking communities resulted, disempowering already vulnerable people. 39% of Australians are culturally and linguistically diverse (Diversity Arts Australia) and this group is more likely to suffer chronic illnesses and miss out on important health information due to low engagement. We wanted to bring awareness to this critical issue, which is one that unfortunately predates the pandemic.

Design the world you want

The Mistranslations Project was created to be a model for a more inclusive approach to communications. It asked linguistically diverse creatives to reimagine COVID-19 messaging in their own language. By actively engaging those impacted by messaging blunders, it set out to show a more inclusive and effective way to reach diverse communities with critical information.

An identity, microsite and Instagram account were created to share the brief with linguistically diverse creatives and communities. Workshops were hosted to encourage submissions from TAFE students, where 19.4% of students speak a language other than English at home. Articles about the project appeared on SBS online, communicating the brief even more widely.

Sharing the submissions

Forty eight submissions, spanning twenty six languages were received that captured a breadth of ideas and experiences. To share their stories and launch the Mistranslations Project, 18 submissions were selected to be shown in a poster exhibition as part of Melbourne Design Week.

Learning through collaboration

The brief encouraged collaboration between creatives and non-creatives. One submission saw a collaboration between an English speaking designer and an Indigenous park ranger who speaks Djambarrpuyngu. The ranger noted that in her community, 1.5m social distancing was very difficult because people often live between multiple houses at any time. This reinforced our understanding of the need for tailored messaging for multicultural communities, not a ‘one-size fits all' approach.

“It was disappointing to see Assyrian missing from official translated instructional information. Assyrians may not have a country, but we have each other, and that strong sense of community helped spread COVID safety information to those who needed it most.”

Valentina Saldouzi, Poster artist

Capturing the Mistranslations idea

The project identity playfully engages with the concept of mistranslation by harnessing and distorting the universal language of symbolism. In motion, the wordmark becomes impossible to read as symbols and letters from different alphabets tick over, while bespoke sticker icons pile up to reference the overload of confusing messaging seen throughout the pandemic.

Supporting positive change

Every poster was for sale on the night of the exhibition, with proceeds going to Connection Arts Space who work with creatives of asylum seeker and migrant backgrounds. To further support the organisation, the posters are currently for sale online.