Conference Handout Design

Project brief — Conference participant one-pager

I am presenting an interactive session at an Indigenous evaluation conference titled:

Nothing About Us Without Us: Governance Before Method

The session explores one central proposition: governance should be established before evaluation methodology is selected.

I have developed a one-page participant resource to accompany the session. It is not intended to be a new First Nations evaluation framework. Rather, it brings together grounding principles and reflective questions from my practice as a First Nations evaluator, alongside work developed in partnership with Rooftop Social, to help participants think about how they establish relationships, governance and ways of doing business with mob before moving into evaluation design.

I have attached a rough visual mock-up. Please treat this as a content and layout reference only, not as finished artwork. I would like the final piece redesigned from scratch so it feels professionally authored, contemporary and appropriate for a national evaluation conference.

Purpose

The one-pager should help participants visually understand and remember the relationship between:

Governance before methodology

The four grounding Rs used in our practice

Respect

Reciprocity

Responsibility

Reconciliation

Reflective practice through

Knowing

Doing

Being

And the central reflective question:

How are we going to do business together?

The resource should encourage participants to reflect on power, relationships, decision-making, reciprocity, responsibility and whose knowledge shapes evaluation.

Audience

The primary audience is First Nations evaluators, practitioners and community members, with allies also participating.

The piece should therefore feel grounded, intelligent and respectful. It should not look like a government infographic, corporate strategy diagram or generic “Aboriginal-themed” poster.

Design direction

I want the final design to feel:

Warm, relational, reflective, grounded and contemporary.

The current stone/circle concept is useful because participants will physically hold stones during the workshop representing the principles. The circular arrangement also reflects the way participants will sit and yarn together.

I would like to retain the idea of:

seven distinct stones or grounded elements;

a central relationship/governance space;

subtle connection between the elements;

Country/land/water as grounding rather than decoration;

a clear visual movement from principles → reflection → practice → commitment.

However, please reinterpret these elements rather than reproducing the current illustration.

Cultural design consideration

I do not want generic pan-Indigenous visual motifs used simply to make the page “look Aboriginal.”

Please avoid decorative dot-painting conventions, symbols or cultural imagery unless their use is appropriate, intentional and can be culturally justified.

The cultural integrity of the resource should come primarily from the relational concepts, language, structure and ways of thinking, rather than decorative Indigenous styling.

If visual references to Country, water, stone, movement or gathering are used, I would prefer these to be restrained and contemporary.

Visual hierarchy

The most important content should be:

GOVERNANCE BEFORE METHODOLOGY

Then:

Ethics & Integrity in Cultural Wisdom & Story Gathering

Then the guiding question:

Before choosing methodology, ask:
How are we going to do business together?

The centre should be:

Grounding in relationship

With the reflective questions arranged clearly and with strong spacing:

Who are we doing business with?

Whose knowledge will guide us?

How are we showing up?

Who gets to make decisions?

How will power be shared?

What needs to change?

What does reciprocity look like?

What are our responsibilities to each other?

The last question should sit at the bottom because it is deliberately broader and carries more weight.

Bottom reflection

I would like three simple areas:

OUR SPACE
We sit in a circle so we can see each other. This helps us be accountable, listen deeply and value every voice.

OUR INTENTION
To reflect, be challenged and consider what is within reach for each of us to take forward in our work.

OUR COMMITMENT
To carry forward what we learn, with respect for the people and knowledge systems that have come before us.

The final reflective prompt should be prominent:

What is within reach for you?

Attribution

Please retain a subtle attribution at the bottom:

Session grounding developed by Jessi Gidgup-Lovett in partnership with Rooftop Social, drawing on longstanding First Nations relational, ethical and culturally responsive practice.

Also retain a small disclaimer explaining that these principles are grounding for reflection rather than a transferable First Nations evaluation framework, and that governance and evaluation approaches need to be developed with the particular mob, community and context involved.

Final output

I need this designed as a professional A4 one-page participant handout, suitable for both:

high-quality colour printing; and

accessible PDF distribution after the conference.

Please provide the editable working file as well as print-ready PDF version.

I want someone looking at this to think an evaluator and designer sat together and deliberately created a reflective practice resource—not that someone typed ‘Aboriginal evaluation infographic’ into an image generator.