A group of University of Notre Dame graphic design students who used Adobe software in their collaboration with the University’s Haiti Program, is currently featured in an article in the education section of Adobe’s main Web site.
The principal goal of Notre Dame’s Haiti Program is to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) from the impoverished Caribbean nation. LF, which causes the grotesque swelling of body parts known as elephantiasis, can be treated by adding nutrients to salt, a key ingredient in the Haitian diet. However, the salt is often discolored as a result of the primitive conditions in which it is harvested, so Haitians often wash their salt before using it, which washes away the nutrients and renders it useless for combating the disease.
In an effort to keep Haitians, 65 percent of whom are illiterate, from washing their salt, the design students used Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Illustrator to design logos and visual concepts to help market the healing effect of the fortified salt.
The Adobe article details the efforts of the design students, who graduated last year, as well as those of industrial design and MBA students working alongside Rev. Thomas Streit, C.S.C., a Notre Dame biologist and director of the Haiti Program.
The Adobe article on the Notre Dame Haiti Program is available at http://www.adobe.com/education/designschools/spotlights/notredame.html .
Originally published by at newsinfo.nd.edu on February 23, 2006.