The work I have created and aspire to continue to create is largely influenced by the idea of human-centered design. I consider this approach to design to be essential for creating research and experiences that center on the values of community and advocacy. This is because this approach prioritizes giving voice to the audiences/users of designs, as well as honoring overall lived experiences of people as valuable sources of knowledge.
In her article titled “Design as Advocacy: Using a human-centered Approach to Investigate the Needs of Vulnerable Populations”, Emma J. Rose defines human-centered design as “an approach that focuses on the needs, contexts, desires, and input of the people who are the audience, or users, of the design… human-centered design should look more broadly and provide a way to consider how design can support or constrain the needs of people whose lives are impacted by both the systems and policies that are created by a more digitized world” (Rose 428). By using human-centered design as opposed to the more traditionally used user-centered design, one is obligated to consider both the individual, their individual context, as well as their community and cultural contexts when designing systems that person would be interacting with. In other words, by considering the person before the user, one should be able to design systems and experiences that go beyond harm reduction/ reactive action and instead moves towards proactive action that is beneficial for the designer, the user, and the community as a whole. To embody the practice of human-centered design, I employ methods and methodologies that prioritize the lived experience of the people I am designing with/for. Two of these methodologies are narrative inquiry and translation.