Postcard

Looking for background information on Human-Centered Design? Go here for an introduction

Download the Postcard (English)

A Postcard is a simple tool easily understood without much instruction—if you have ever sent a postcard to a friend, you’re well on your way
It is fast and a fun way for people to respond to a topic by providing a quick and concise summary—it forces people to get to the point
This tool allows people to provide feedback, to share their life experiences, or to just find a bit of hope in their situation
Overlap uses postcards in two contexts with the following prompts:
- “If you really knew me…” in which people respond with important context that they believe would be helpful for service providers to know
- “Dear 2019 me…” in which people write a letter from their future self about how things are 5-10 years from now

Postcards can be used as an activity station at any event where people can talk and share their experiences
You may place them your front desk where people can insert completed ones into a “mailbox”
Or use it as a way to frame a conversation or to start an interview with clients

Encourage people to follow the cues and write in their responses by hand
All responses should remain anonymous
If children (or adults) are not able to write their response themselves, offer to be a confidential scribe

Ensure that you have the right prompt for the Postcard you want to use
Ensure that you let people know that there are no wrong answers when completing their Postcard
When working with children, find a simple way to get the prompt across and write down what the child is saying word for word
Remember that you can gain a tremendous amount from a one- or two-word answer on a Postcard