Co-Designing HIV Prevention for Latine LGBTQ+ Communities

Campaign website and branding developed by the creative team based on community input from engagement sessions.

Context

I coordinated community engagement for the PrEPárate Campaign, a social marketing intervention addressing HIV prevention disparities among Latine sexual minority men and transgender women in Chicago. The project was funded by the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research and employed participatory design methods with community partners as decision-makers.

Problem

While PrEP (a medication that prevents HIV infection) was available in Chicago, Latine LGBTQ+ communities weren't adopting it at the same rates as other groups. Most prevention campaigns had been designed for white gay audiences and didn't address the specific cultural considerations and trust barriers that mattered to Latine communities.

Solution

Baseline Community Assessment

• Designed push-to-web bilingual (English and Spanish) recruitment poster using QR code, positioned strategically in physical spaces of community partners and nightlife locations

• Translated and programmed bilingual survey in Qualtrics to measure baseline PrEP awareness among Latine communities

Bilingual recruitment poster I designed demonstrating cultural considerations in information architecture—parallel English/Spanish layout with inclusive gender terminology (Latino/a/x and Latine).

Community Engagement Coordination

• Coordinated iterative community engagement sessions with members of the Chicago Queer Latinx (CQL) Collaborative—which included leadership from longstanding HIV treatment and prevention organizations serving the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in Chicago

• Community partners ideated and provided feedback throughout campaign design while I took detailed notes and circulated them among the full team (e.g. creative professionals and principal investigators)

• Community input directly shaped the creative's team approach to:

  • Visual strategy: Bright colors, local influencers, strength-based (not deficit-based) imagery

  • Messaging approach: Health-positive language emphasizing self-empowerment while avoiding perpetuation of cultural stigmas

  • Platform selection: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Grindr (LGBTQ+ dating app) based on community social media patterns

  • Cultural nuance: Moving beyond translation to authentic cultural adaptation

    

    

    

Related portfolio work: I also created geographic visualizations to identify which Chicago neighborhoods to prioritize for campaign distribution

Results

Campaign Recognition & Publications

• PrEPpy Award - 2nd place for community-centered PrEP campaigns (2025)

• Principal investigators later published campaign evaluation in JMIR Formative Research (2024) and AIDS and Behavior (2024)

Measurable Impact (campaign ran April–September 2022)

• Reached 118,750+ people via social media, public transit, and community events

• Among Latine survey respondents exposed to the campaign:

  • 5.23× increase in PrEP awareness

  • 1.69× increase in PrEP use

What resonated with communities

Post-campaign evaluation identified key factors that engaged audiences:

• Featuring recognizable local community members as campaign faces

• The bilingual campaign name

• Messaging centered on overall wellness, not just sexual health

View more campaign materials: preparate.info/english/media