All photos are from: nasjonalrassikringsgruppe.no
Nasjonal Rassikringsgruppe
Category
⇾ NGO
Work
⇾ UX & Information System
Agency
⇾ Røst Kommunikasjon
The National Avalanche Safety Group coordinates national efforts to improve avalanche safety and infrastructure investment across Norway’s high-risk regions.
The initiative aligns policymakers, municipalities, and the public around risk understanding and infrastructure prioritisation.
As communication expanded, information became fragmented across policy, municipal, and public channels, reducing interpretability and trust.
I designed a unified communication system focused on clarity, alignment, and decision support in a safety-critical national context.
Problem
Avalanche safety communication was fragmented across:
- policy documentation
- municipal planning materials
- public safety guidance
This created inconsistent interpretation of risk levels and recommended actions across stakeholder groups.
The core failure was not lack of information, but lack of shared structure for interpreting it.
“Vi har ikke råd til å la være å sørge for at vi har sikre og framkommelige veger i Norge. Vi har ikke råd til å miste noen.”
– Jenny Følling, leder, nasjonal rassikringsgruppe
Key Insight
In safety systems, information only works when interpretation is aligned under uncertainty.
Breakdowns occurred when technical risk data was translated differently across audiences with varying expertise levels.
The challenge was therefore not content production, but alignment of decision framing across stakeholders.
Approach
The communication ecosystem was analysed across:
- policy formation
- municipal coordination
- public guidance
Focus was placed on how hierarchy and structure change meaning across expertise levels.
Constraint: technical accuracy could not be reduced in favour of simplicity.
This required balancing precision with accessibility.
Design Strategy
A unified decision-support system was implemented across three layers:
Information system
Risk data was structured into hierarchical, decision-oriented formats supporting both expert and public interpretation.
Tradeoff: granular technical detail was selectively collapsed to preserve scan-ability without losing critical meaning.
Communication system
Terminology and messaging were standardised across all stakeholder levels.
Tradeoff: domain-specific variations in language were reduced to prevent misalignment in cross-audience interpretation.
Digital system
The website was redesigned as a structured decision-support platform.
Reports and guidelines were reorganised based on decision relevance rather than document type.
Key Design Decisions
Hierarchical model
Complex avalanche data was translated into structured decision formats for rapid comprehension.
Unified communication language
Standardised terminology reduced interpretive gaps across stakeholder groups.
Knowledge architecture redesign
Information was reorganised into a navigable system based on decision needs rather than publication format.
Outcomes
The system improved interpretability of avalanche safety communication across audiences.
- Policymakers accessed clearer decision inputs
- Municipal stakeholders improved planning clarity
- Public users better understood risk levels and guidance
Communication shifted from fragmented interpretation to aligned decision support.
Reflections
In safety-critical systems, communication is infrastructure.
Its purpose is not to present information, but to ensure consistent interpretation under pressure.
In safety-critical systems, communication design functions as infrastructure for trust.
Its role is not to present information, but to ensure aligned interpretation under pressure.
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