Thought Over Design Creates Visual Identity for ‘Cough Against Covid’

The Client

The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence is an independent, nonprofit research institute and global hub, developing AI solutions for social good.

The Campaign

The ‘Cough Against Covid’ campaign is a global data-crowdsourcing and open-innovation initiative to try and build an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool that uses cough sounds, symptoms, and other contextual information to screen for possible Covid 19 infection. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Stanford University and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .

The Identity

To cough for good and to cough against the pandemic – that was the thought behind the name  ‘Cough Against Covid’.

The visual identity was designed to be simple and memorable. A clean sans serif type (IBM Plex Sans) is set in lowercase for an approachable look and feel. Encasing in a box makes the unit easy to anchor visually. The box adapts itself to the type as the lockups change. The shadow around the box gives the whole unit a tactile quality.

The ‘cough sound’ icon is designed to be a simple asset that is also incorporated into the communication. The speech bubble with the sound wave is indicative of the data this campaign will crowdsource.

Designing Digital Assets

Given the serious and present crisis, the focus of the communication was to be visually uncluttered and clear to understand. The website for the campaign is designed to be direct and easy-to-use and design elements have deliberately been made as invisible as possible.

The visual language includes large volumes of white space and smooth lines to make it appear calming. The messaging has been enhanced with friendly illustrations and iconography to communicate empathy.

“Human-centered design takes on  a new meaning when you have to ask people who are sick and feeling vulnerable, for something even as simple as a cough recording.”

Anushka Sani, Founder, Thought Over Design

The Cough Against Covid Team at Thought Over Design
Creative Director: Anushka Sani
Project Lead / UX + UI Designer: Rohit Dasgupta
Brand Designer: Jyothi Iyer
Illustrations: Ganesh More

For more information on the campaign, see:

CoughagainstCovid
Reddit AMA 
Wadhwani AI Covid19 Hub