Committed to leveraging design and technology to empower displaced communities, shaping a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive with dignity.
WELCOME
Refugees
“As a refugee, I WANT to complete the asylum application process successfully so I can live a dignified life in my new country, with the help of WELCOME.”
“As a refugee, I WANT to fully integrate into society so I can be accepted as a full citizen through the support of WELCOME.”
“As a refugee, I WANT to secure housing and meaningful employment so I can ensure a stable future for my family, facilitated by WELCOME.”
NGOs
“As an NGO, I WANT to provide refugees with a structured welcome and essential, firsthand information so they can integrate smoothly into the community, with WELCOME’s guidance.”
“As an NGO, I WANT to assist refugees consistently, so the asylum evaluation process becomes more efficient, using WELCOME as a tool.”
State
“As the State, I WANT to collect information about asylum seekers, so the application process is fairer and more transparent, supported by WELCOME.”
“As the State, I WANT to immediately scan and authenticate asylum seekers, so their identification can be verified quickly and easily, through WELCOME.”
What People Say
"Through Welcome, I found a lifeline in a sea of uncertainty. It’s more than a tool; it’s a guide that empowers and restores a sense of control in the most vulnerable moments." - Leila Hussein (35), Human Rights Advocate and Refugee
"Welcome is more than just technology; it is a bridge of hope that transforms the unknown into something familiar and supportive." - Misha Al Numan (62), Chemical Engineer Refugee
"For many of us, starting over means facing countless barriers. Welcome has given me the courage to navigate a complex system with confidence, making integration feel achievable rather than overwhelming." - Ahmed Khalil (29), Former Teacher and Asylum Seeker
Our Partners
Our Purpose
At OFFicial, we are a vital ally for people who are forced to leave behind their homes, lives, and everything they know and face precarious conditions upon arriving in a new country. In an interconnected and technologically advanced world, our mission is to support and empower these individuals who are constantly pursuing a dignified and secure life.
What do we do?
We use innovation and prospective design to create future-oriented artifacts that promote collective reflection and drive social change. We transform refugees' complex realities, projecting effective solutions for the near future. Our approach focuses on:
- Simplification: We significantly reduce the processing times for asylum applications through deeply empathetic and human interactions.
- Automation: We alleviate the administrative burden on institutions and streamline processes by integrating advanced intelligent technologies.
- Facilitating Integration: We build bridges of support that enable agile and meaningful integration into host communities, providing services that interpret and assist refugees at every step.
- Building Trust: In a constantly changing global environment, we offer clarity and eliminate uncertainty for refugees, ensuring a secure and understandable experience.
Design Principles
The design of WELCOME is not neutral. Our product is intentionally built around the values we represent as a company:
- 1. The future is about stories of change built in the present: we want to contribute to building a more sustainable, supportive, and equitable society.
- 2. We are optimistic, not utopian.
- 3. We design from real data and for everyone; we will not leave anyone behind.
- 4. Technology is a tool to solve problems, not a place to spend time. The right amount of tech is the minimum necessary to solve a problem.
- 5. Trust grows with transparency. We simplify processes to make them accessible.
- 6. We design for a before and after impact.
- 7. If we believe something is possible, we strive to change it and calmly accept what we cannot.
- 8. What is important to our users is also important to our organization.
Look & Feel
The development of the graphic elements that make up Welcome is based on two fundamental guidelines: the design principles by which OFFicial operates and the work developed by Syrian graphic designer and refugee Yara Said.
In 2015, the civil war in Syria, the situation of extreme poverty in Niger, and the political persecution in Afghanistan and Iraq led to one of the largest migration crises in history. As a result, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games joined Amnesty International's Refugee Nation initiative. They registered a team of 10 refugee athletes as a symbolic gesture to make the crisis visible. This initiative has been continued for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a team of 29 athletes.
Although not officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee, as part of this visibility campaign, a team of creatives developed several distinctive graphic elements, the most important of which is the Refugee Nation flag.
OFFicial's flagship product is designed to support refugees through every step of their journey in a new country. Powered by advanced Artificial Intelligence, Welcome simplifies, automates, and personalizes the asylum process and integration into the community.
OFFicial App
The OFFicial App provides an all-in-one, easy-to-use tool for managing asylum seekers' integration and documentation process. Key features include:
- Welcome: Quick onboarding with personal profile setup through voice commands.
- Virtual Documentation Wallet: Stores and organizes important documents for easy access and management.
- Deadline Calendar: Tracks important dates with automatic reminders for document submission.
- Access to Your Lawyer: Virtual legal support with real-time assistance.
- Available Resources Directory: Comprehensive guide to accessible services and support.
- Local Glossary: Linguistic resource with useful local terms and phrases.
- Location and Maps Access: Geolocated information and detailed city maps.
- Augmented Reality (AR): Advanced feature to intuitively help users find resources within the app interface.
- Anonymous Data Collection: Anonymous data contributions to the state while fully respecting privacy.
As a conversational assistant, the weight of the graphical interface is drastically reduced. Today, users are used to interacting with digital services through natural interfaces, but visual output ensures that the message has been received correctly.
In addition, it is necessary to visually communicate certain states of the assistant, especially when it is unable to communicate orally, i.e. when it is not connected or has been disabled by the user for privacy reasons.
Another context in which visual support is needed is when there are navigation prompts or options to choose from (e.g. a calendar).
Beyond these situations, as mentioned above, the interaction with Welcome will be in the form of a background dialogue, allowing the mobile device to be used for any other function while the assistant interacts with the user either on its initiative (a reminder) or by invoking it (e.g., Welcome, what is the deadline for submitting my residency application?).
Physical Device: Biometric Data Wristband
The OFFicial wristband is a complementary device providing advanced security and health functions:
- Design and Functionality: Biometric sensors that measure heart rate, body activity, and respiration.
- NFC Chip: Stores data for temporary personal identification, enabling secure, contactless access.
- Battery Life: Up to 72 hours with rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
- Compatibility: Works with iOS, Android, and Huawei for seamless integration.
- App Connectivity: Syncs with the OFFicial App and can be used with a headset or without.
Our Team
Jorge Gil Rodríguez
Lead UI Designer / Interaction Designer Jr.
Graduated in Audiovisual Communication. He has developed his career in diverse fields, such as audiovisual production, graphic design, and DIY event curation and management, with social innovation as a common thread.
"Deeply convinced that design and technology should serve communication between people, and not the other way around, and with a life trajectory in community organizations, we create Welcome to impact, facilitate, and streamline the management of situations of vulnerability, particularly in the asylum application process for refugees by the principles of the Geneva Convention."
Eider Fernández Arcos
Lead Product Designer / Researcher Jr.
Graduated in Product Design from UDIT, she complements her education with a Master’s in User Experience Design for Products and Services from the same institution. Currently, she focuses on creating and managing communities, organizing events and meetups to attract opportunities, and establishing relationships with key players in the design sector.
"I believe in design as a tool to move forward, and through my work, I feel obligated to respond to any stimulus that arises from observing situations or needs, using the natural user experience-based design process. I believe designers have that superpower and that creativity and empathy are our greatest allies in addressing it."
Nicolás Bronzina
Lead Researcher / UI Designer Jr.
As a Design Researcher, he focuses on enriching and advancing the speculative aspects of design through extensive research, diegetic prototyping, and translating conceptual frameworks into tangible ideas.
"Due to my personal interest in social issues, particularly those affecting vulnerable populations, and my academic background as a Sociologist, the personal purpose of this project is to understand, from my perspective as a foreigner in Spain, the life stories, needs, and challenges of refugees in Spain. I seek to empathize with them and find possible solutions from my place in society and as part of the OFFicial team."
Contact Us
Interested in collaborating or learning more? Reach out, and let's make a difference together.
This website and its artifact tell a story about a future we might all experience soon, regardless of whether you live in Spain. It is part of the Final Master’s Thesis based on Futures Design and Strategic Foresight between Nicolás Bronzina, Eider Fernández Arcos, and Jorge Gil Rodríguez called "User Experience Design as a Tool for Social Intervention in the Refugee Crisis.”
We used an approach called Design Fiction to envision, design, and move toward desirable futures rather than passively accepting what is and 'will be' the so-called refugee crisis.
Please contact Nicolás Bronzina for further information about this project.