TU VI TRAN








Norwegian-Vietnamese designer based in Oslo, Norway.




Works

About me

CV

Interpreting Access 





YEAR
2025

TYPE OF PROJECT
Diploma project

collaborator
Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet

Tags
Social services
Co-creation
Public sector

Recognition  
Nominated for the 2025 AHO Works Prize for Service Design.



For immigrants in a foreign country, language barriers can be isolating; cutting them off from opportunities and services that are essential to everyday living. Interpretation is a complex social practice that many citizens in Norway rely on for equal access to public services.

In my master’s thesis, I studied how public organs could improve multilingual communication in public schools in Norway, where language barriers can undermine trust, understanding, and inclusion.














BackgroundWhile interpretation services are designed to bridge language gaps, the current service landscape compromises the legal security of minority-speaking residents. Economical motivations takes precedence over service quality. Fragmented ordering systems create distance between actual participants, fostering passive engagement and skepcism rather than collaboration and trust.

To explore how public services can shift this perception of interpretation as a practical budget expense to enhance levels of trust and inclusion, I utilized parent-teacher meetings in schools as my case-study. Throughout the entire process, I involved teachers, interpreters and immigrants.







How might we design a platform that fosters common ground, shifting interpretation from a transactional service to a collaborative partnership?

















To explore future alternatives, I translated stakeholder experiences into design artifacts that supported several co-design sessions.



















ProcessI discovered strong eagerness for better experiences among various stakeholders, but little research or innovation provide a space for their perspectives to shape change. With limited knowledge of interpretation services myself, I decided to co-create with 34 participants to learn how feasible solutions could look like.

The artifacts served as prompts for co-creation sessions with participants, addressing aspects of interpretation services such as service models, social contexts, power, and culture. They enabled us to discuss practicalities and challenges, like the lack of awareness around preparation needs. These artifacts laid the groundwork for developing a functioning prototype, which I tested on interpreters, immigrants and teachers in the greater Oslo-region.


















ResultsThis prompt-driven process resulted in the platform “Co-Order”. The digital tool acts as a collaborative framework, building on the already existing Tolkeregisteret to better prepare stakeholders for the complexities that take place before, during and after interpreted meetings in schools.  

A shared platform for interpreters, teachers, and immigrant parents would greatly improve conversations by providing the opportunity for all participants to be better prepared. They get access to rights-cards, vital information about the meeting, relevant documents and support. Parents can feel confident in knowing their rights, interpreters informed about the stakes of a situation, and teachers save time. This is how our society can work towards better social inclusion.


Read the full report here











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