Roberta Antognini, Bhakti Moghe, Sofie-Amalie Torp Dideriksen
Designers have always sought to make the world a better place, and in today's age, we see that design is increasingly engaging with more complex social challenges such as inequality, poverty, violence, and health. While design has great potential in addressing these issues, this work can be taxing on designers. Working on sensitive topics or with vulnerable groups can make designers themselves vulnerable – listening to stories of human suffering or working with people in difficult situations can be challenging. In the worst case, it can impact designers' well-being, leading to burnout. Despite a growing awareness, there is still much to understand about how vulnerability impacts designers and the design process.
Based on their own personal experience dealing with vulnerability, this project was started by four PhD candidates. Their goal was to gain a deeper understanding of how vulnerability manifests in design work and to initiate a conversation on how to better manage vulnerability within the design community.
The goal of this dialogue is to think together on the bigger question: How can we, in the design community and at universities, ensure the health of our designers when working on today’s most pressing topics?
From Workshop to Booklet: "The Empathy Trail"
During the DDW workshop, it was inspiring to see how our work resonated with participants from both academia and industry. This encouraged us to share the insights gained throughout the project with a broader audience. We wanted to create an outcome that embodied the approaches explored in our workshops: embracing vulnerability and engaging with it through a full-body experience.
Video by Marica De Michele
We are delighted to present the result: The Empathy Trail, a booklet that invites readers on a journey to learn about vulnerability and explore their own relationship with it through small, meaningful gestures. Some of these gestures can be experienced individually, while others encourage readers to connect with their communities and support networks. Through this booklet, we aim to help readers better understand themselves and discover new ways to navigate their own vulnerability.
Booklet design and illustrations by Ilaria Vonella
Folding Instructions
We hope you enjoyed exploring The Empathy Trail. Whether you've tried the activities or simply browsed through the booklet, we'd love to hear about your thoughts and suggestions!