A healthy internet, a stronger future: a digital literacy poster for students

The situation

Digital safety material for students is usually a list of prohibitions: do not share personal data, do not open unknown links. Those rules are true, but they never say what can be lost, so they feel irrelevant to a student who has never had data leaked.

Who it was for

Secondary school students who see the poster on a noticeboard or receive it as an image in a class group chat. They read quickly, often only looking at the illustration, and will stop only if the image feels close to their own day.

Approach

I chose one headline naming what they worry about most, their future, and set it above a large illustration of everyday digital activity. The detail about the threat and how to protect yourself sits as a single closing line rather than a list.

Craft and compliance

An A4 poster with a digital painting rather than vector icons, so it feels like work made for them. The purple and blue palette was chosen to differ from health material in general, and the type is heavy white so it stays legible over a gradient ground.

Outcome

The poster was printed and used as material for digital literacy sessions at schools.

Evidence The only evidence is the poster file. Students' online behaviour was not measured before or after, so a change in behaviour cannot be claimed.

Reflection

The first version carried five digital safety tips in a small column under the illustration, and none of them got read. Cutting it back to one closing line let the illustration grow and made the main message land harder.