For people facing violence, coercion, or deliberate deprivation in humanitarian crises, access to protection is rarely straightforward. Needs are multiple. Services are fragmented. The systems meant to help can feel impossible to navigate alone. Protection case management exists to bridge that gap. Rooted in social work principles, it pairs each person with a dedicated caseworker. That caseworker coordinates services, advocates for rights, and attends to mental health and psychosocial needs. They build on the person’s strengths and community connections.
Designing a resource for caseworkers worldwide
For years, the Protection Case Management Guide has been the reference resource for organisations and practitioners delivering this work globally. In 2023, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee released a major revision of the guide, developed through an inter-agency process with USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance and endorsed by the Global Protection Cluster. We were brought in to develop the visual identity, the report design, and produce the materials to support its dissemination.
Visual identity, report design, and illustration system
We developed a visual identity that balances institutional authority with human warmth. Custom illustrations give presence and dignity to the caseworkers and the people they support, resisting the tendency of technical resources to render lived experience in abstractions. Presentation templates and dissemination videos extended the identity beyond the guide itself, equipping NRC, IRC, and their partners to bring this resource into training rooms, coordination meetings, and field deployments worldwide.
The guide is used by humanitarian organisations across the globe. Getting its design right matters. A resource that caseworkers trust, return to, and can act on under pressure is more than a publication. It is part of the infrastructure that makes protection possible.
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