Design Fellow - Health Communication & Storytelling - Remote · 10+ hours/week minimum · 3-month minimum, renewable

About the Role

Healthful Stories is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) patient advocacy nonprofit dedicated to surfacing the real patient journey. We conduct structured, longitudinal interviews with individuals living with chronic and complex health conditions as a means of providing critical information to others navigating the same illnesses. Our work produces rich, firsthand accounts of what it means to seek care, manage symptoms, and navigate a health system that often falls short. Our volunteers are at the heart of this work.

We're launching a Design Fellowship for someone who wants to bring real design craft to our mission through our website, outreach materials, and through visual communication that makes complex, sensitive health experiences clearer, more human, and more actionable. This work sits at the intersection of design and health communication — the same territory as graphic medicine, health literacy design, and patient-experience visual storytelling, where visuals do more than decorate — they help people understand and connect with information that matters to their lives.

This is a Fellow-tier role — it requires a minimum of 10 hours per week, because brand systems, templates, and donor and advocacy materials need consistency to build well. In exchange, you get real design ownership across a growing organization, not a single isolated project.

Responsibilities

• Developing and documenting a cohesive brand identity system (visual style, templates, guidelines) for Healthful Stories' public-facing materials
• Designing website pages and social media templates, donor communications materials (including our case for support), and policy one-pagers and decks
• Translating interview excerpts and patient narratives into visual formats that build understanding and empathy without sensationalizing — think infographics, narrative graphics, or illustrated story excerpts
• Creating visual assets to support the HEART Fellows program and volunteer recruitment materials
• Collaborating with our Social Media Manager, Fundraiser, and Executive Director to keep materials aligned with active campaigns and priorities
• Coordinating with our WordPress Webmaster on visual assets for the website
• Maintaining a shared design asset library so future volunteers can use templates consistently

What You Bring

• A strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity, template systems, and/or marketing collateral design
• Proficiency in tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, or Canva at a professional level
• Ability to genuinely commit 10+ hours per week for a minimum of three months — this role is not a good fit for sporadic availability
• Comfort working across multiple stakeholders and priorities in a small, fast-moving nonprofit
• Strong communication skills and ability to translate written direction and sensitive subject matter into visual solutions independently
• Background or interest in health communication design, graphic medicine, medical illustration, or health literacy-focused design is a strong plus, though not required — we're equally glad to hear from strong generalist designers who want to grow into this space

What You'll Gain

• Real design ownership across an entire organization's visual identity, not a single logo or one-off project — plus direct, hands-on experience in the specific and growing niche of health communication design
• A substantial portfolio body of work spanning brand systems, donor materials, patient-narrative visual storytelling, and advocacy collateral
• Direct collaboration with our Executive Director and cross-functional visibility into how a nonprofit's programs, fundraising, and advocacy fit together
• This is a strong credential for careers in nonprofit design, health communication, brand strategy, or health-focused UX and service design