MDes Thesis Project
Designed Interventions For Healing
Addressing Trauma Through the Framework of Occupied Space,
Traditions, and Objects
Traditions, and Objects
I would be lying if I tried condensing this project into a rigid form of approach. As a designer with an eclectic background, I approached this project through several methods. The overall design process is an amalgamation of several schools of thought. Co-design, human-centered design, trauma-informed principles, speculative design, and democratic design are some of the driving forces behind the project.
If a building becomes architecture, then it is art
1
The motivation behind this project
My prime motivation for this project was rather personal. As someone who had a tough time coming to terms with my own rape and the subsequent trauma around it, I now felt that I needed to analyze my condition through the lens of design thinking. Are there other women like me? What might we do as a society to curb incidences of sexual assault? Why are women the primary victims of rape and sexual assault? How might we deal with the repercussions of the trauma?
As a product designer, I resisted the urge to take on this route of inquiry for my thesis but I believe the possibility of what I would uncover in this investigation and project always clawed its way back in and ultimately lead to a defining point in my career as a designer.
As a product designer, I resisted the urge to take on this route of inquiry for my thesis but I believe the possibility of what I would uncover in this investigation and project always clawed its way back in and ultimately lead to a defining point in my career as a designer.
2
understanding trauma
examining the rape kit
what it does and what ecosystem does this object exist in
Who administers it and where?
A SANE ( Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner), if present administers it and usually in an ER in the USA.
How long does it take for the survivor to get tested?
It depends, but it can take anywhere between 3-6 hours.
Why is it recommended?
The survivor's body contains forensic evidence that is really important if the survivor wishes to proceed through with a criminal justice investigation. Because of the nature of the crime, it is imperative that the evidence be gathered as soon as possible after the crime has occurred.
Post assault, the survivors are asked to refrain from cleaning themselves of any physical evidence.
From the survivor's perspective, they sit in a bleak, clinical environment, where they re-live a part of their assault as the examiner asks them questions and collects evidence from their body. It is a genuinely harrowing experience, albeit a necessary one.
The necessity of an object such as a rape kit is a reminder of the constant threat women face. This point in my process urged me to consider my efforts to use design thinking to facilitate healing, mostly post-trauma. Could there be a contrasting kit to the rape kit that doesn't reinforce trauma, but rather helps the survivors process it.
From the survivor's perspective, they sit in a bleak, clinical environment, where they re-live a part of their assault as the examiner asks them questions and collects evidence from their body. It is a genuinely harrowing experience, albeit a necessary one.
The necessity of an object such as a rape kit is a reminder of the constant threat women face. This point in my process urged me to consider my efforts to use design thinking to facilitate healing, mostly post-trauma. Could there be a contrasting kit to the rape kit that doesn't reinforce trauma, but rather helps the survivors process it.
Posing the questions
How can we support survivors to heal?
Can we use objects to facilitate recovery?
How do women experience trauma?
What are treatment models used currently?
How might we become trauma-informed as a society in the things we produce and design?
Can we use objects to facilitate recovery?
How do women experience trauma?
What are treatment models used currently?
How might we become trauma-informed as a society in the things we produce and design?
talking to the specialists
what it does and what ecosystem does this object exist in
To better understand trauma and where I could potentially chime in as a designer, I sought out individuals and organizations which deal with demographics affected by various traumatic experiences. I spoke to them about their approach and brought them on as advisors to constantly review the concepts.
*Please email me regarding their complete information and the particulars of my research process with them. Due to the sensitive nature of this project, I am abstaining from revealing their complete personal details.
*Please email me regarding their complete information and the particulars of my research process with them. Due to the sensitive nature of this project, I am abstaining from revealing their complete personal details.
- LianaTrauma-informed service designer
- BethPh.D., LSW
- RebeccaClinical Social Work/Therapist, MSW, LCSW
- MichelleMA, ATR-BC, LPC, CGP
- MoisesPh.D. , Lic. Clinical Psychologist
- MichellePhD
- SaraPh.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- JanePh.D.
casting a wide net: merging design theories with psychology and mythology
To best design healing, I referred to multiple sources within the genre of feminist classics, design theory, mythology, psychology, and so on. These are some of them.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk and Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung were incredibly enlightening in understanding how trauma affects us biologically and spiritually. These texts also covered topics around the power of symbolic artifacts and imagery in our dreams, stories, and culture and how they physiologically impact us for the better or worse.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk and Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung were incredibly enlightening in understanding how trauma affects us biologically and spiritually. These texts also covered topics around the power of symbolic artifacts and imagery in our dreams, stories, and culture and how they physiologically impact us for the better or worse.
3
getting in touch with survivors
i put these posters in restrooms, bars, college buildings and other places where I could reach out to more women
Pre-covid, I met up with 6 survivors individually who got in touch with me through the posters. Every meeting was casual and conversational and led by the survivor. After covid as well, we continued working together while I also got in touch with more women who wanted to be a part of this project to co-design their own healing. I reached out to them through social media platforms. Around 35 women were now willing to co-design with me.
This was when healing rites were beginning to formulate, unbeknownst to me as I still worked on adapting my project to this pandemic's now solitary nature.
This was when healing rites were beginning to formulate, unbeknownst to me as I still worked on adapting my project to this pandemic's now solitary nature.
Through a careful analysis of the situation at hand, new constraints were set up and acknowledged, such as the manifestation of co-design within the four walls of a home.
This pandemic also presented an opportunity to explore the histories and traditions that go on under our own roofs and how women are impacted specifically in this private space. These investigations would lead to a profound point in the project, where suddenly in isolation I found that women of the world had more in common than I previously saw.
This pandemic also presented an opportunity to explore the histories and traditions that go on under our own roofs and how women are impacted specifically in this private space. These investigations would lead to a profound point in the project, where suddenly in isolation I found that women of the world had more in common than I previously saw.
The final outcome of this project gave birth to healing interventions that were grounded in my research as much as it was guided by the co-designers in its direction. Please take a look at an extremely brief version of what occurred here.
And as a product designer, I envisioned a physical compilation of the interventions, in the form of a letter that gets sent out periodically and gets stored away in a personal folio. I carried out healing rites by using email and phones. And while it gave me a lot of flexibility, the medium of it also took away from the message. It also however had no cost attached to its distribution, which would be an issue in the physical form of this kit.
I wanted to explore how this project would be branded into a physical form. In a time where everything is getting digitized, how do we envision a "product" or a "kit" focusing on such a delicate issue? Well, that might be my next project.
I wanted to explore how this project would be branded into a physical form. In a time where everything is getting digitized, how do we envision a "product" or a "kit" focusing on such a delicate issue? Well, that might be my next project.
