FROM THEORY TO ACTION: Exploring Process for Trauma-Informed Approaches in Design

Abstract

Designers are increasingly using their unique skills and tools to find innovative solutions to the wicked social problems our day. Through design processes, we aim to make much-needed systemic changes by engaging the very communities that have experienced harm. While we want to make positive social change, but design education and continuing education must teach designers to address the social and emotional needs of design research participants and collaborators. The emerging conversation around trauma-informed design aims to give designers more tools to support a nonextractive approach to co-design in social impact settings. Social designers are already laying a strong foundation for trauma-informed de- sign practices as they inform other practitioners about how trauma impacts design work and how to become a more informed and inclusive designer. However, there are few case studies to reference when designers begin the process of becoming trauma-informed. Through collaborative work with Convergence Design Lab in Chicago, IL this work aims to fill this gap. During an eight-month process, I workede closely with these social designers to explore the use of new tools that combined strategies from design and social work. After three research phases that included observation, collaborative trauma-informed interviewing, and three design workshops, I observed the potential of trauma-informed approaches to de- sign practice. While this case study shows that trauma-informed design has strong potential to inform and improve upon the practices of social designers, it also displays the challenges of this multidisciplinary effort and offers recommendations for future work.