Graphic Design of Community Bulletin Boards for Rural Health Information Dissemination in Taraba State

Rural communities in Taraba State, North East Nigeria, experience acute information deficits regarding basic health practices due to limited media access, low literacy rates, and infrequent visits by health extension workers. This project designs a standardised community bulletin board system intended to serve as a permanent visual health information platform in rural community centres, schools, and marketplaces across Jalingo and Wukari local government areas. A formative research phase involving structured interviews with sixty community members and fourteen health extension workers identified priority health topics including maternal nutrition, child immunisation, waterborne disease prevention, and malaria control. The bulletin board system was designed as a durable, weather-resistant aluminium-framed display unit with a lockable perspex cover, accommodating eight A3-sized interchangeable health information panels. Information panels were designed using simple iconography, minimal text in English and Mumuye language, and colour-coded health topic sections. An accompanying visual communication style guide was developed to enable health workers to update panels quarterly without specialist graphic design skills. Twelve boards were fabricated and installed across six communities. Pre- and post-installation surveys with two hundred community members assessed health knowledge retention and board engagement. Results show a significant increase in correct knowledge for all health topics covered, with maternal nutrition recording the highest improvement of thirty-eight percent. Keywords: health communication, bulletin board, rural design, Taraba State, visual information.