Design for Dignity
Throughout my career, I've dedicated myself to human-centered design, with a focus on health, ethics, and social impact. My journey has been about examining the intersection of health outcomes and business results and exploring the “social contract” we have with the people we serve. At the heart of this contract is the concept of “designing for dignity,” which is a guiding philosophy that challenges us to prioritize human worth and ethical responsibility in our work.
What Does It Mean to Design for Dignity?
“Designing for Dignity” resonates as an intuitive concept, yet it requires deeper exploration. At its core, it represents a commitment to respecting the inherent worth of each individual and to delivering experiences that reflect empathy, inclusivity, and purpose. The architect Charles Eames famously said, "Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose." The focus on purpose here is critical: what outcomes are we pursuing, and what experiences do we seek to create for those we serve? These questions can guide our design process.
"Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose." - Charles Eames
The concept of dignity came to the forefront for me through the experience of caring for my mother during her time in hospice. Hospice care focuses on adding “life to days” rather than “days to life,” emphasizing meaning and connection even in the face of difficult situations. This experience illuminated the importance of designing systems that support and individual's dignity, especially in their most vulnerable moments.
Empathy, Compassion, and Ethics in Human-Centered Design
In human-centered design, cognitive empathy—understanding another’s situation—and emotional empathy—feeling for another—are essential. Yet, empathy alone isn’t enough. We can consider moral philosophy and ethics, going beyond empathy to establish guiding principles that inform our purpose and actions. This ethical framework enables us to codify respect, reduce harm, and create systems that deliver positive impact.
But what about Business?
I believe we should attempt to evolve business and our roles within them to the greatest extent possible to focus on positive human outcomes.
I love this quote from Charles Dickens, in A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge says…
"Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"
A focus on ethics encourages organizations to consider the cascading consequences of their actions and policies, not just on business outcomes but also on human wellbeing. It calls us to manifest our values in the realms of social responsibility, shared value creation, and conscious capitalism. Philosopher Immanuel Kant put it well: "In the realm of ends, everything has either a price or a dignity."
"In the realm of ends, everything has either a price or a dignity. - Kant"
Our goal should be to prioritize dignity in our interactions, focusing on human outcomes and building systems that uplift rather than diminish.
Design as a Tool for Inclusion and Equity
I believe that “design without inclusion is injustice.” Inclusive design means engaging people in the design process, fostering participatory decision-making, and dismantling barriers to access.
“Design without Inclusion is Injustice” — Me
A commitment to inclusion and equity does not promote one group over another, it looks at the realities of what drives different outcomes for different groups of people and in doing so, experiences improve for everyone. For example, black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. In order to improve maternal mortality numbers as a whole, we need to pay specific attention to maternal mortality is high and design interventions focused on improving the situation. An innovation here may be a way for a mother to get a rapid second opinion if she feels her symptoms are not being paid adequate attention to. This type of system, once implemented, would improve the situation for all women and all people in a hospital, ensuring they are receiving the best care. By designing with people rather than for them, we can ensure that the solutions we design reflect the lived experiences and needs of those they serve, thereby ensuring that they will be more effective.
The Role of Systems Thinking and Futures Thinking
As designers, we must think systemically, recognizing that each part of a system can impact the whole. I remember the early days of the Internet when we were designing not just websites but really the systems and standards through which people would interact with this new technology. Today, similar considerations apply as we design systems incorporating AI and other emerging technologies, shaping not only interactions with technology and organizations but the future potential of human experience.
"There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in." - Desmond Tutu
Futures thinking offers a framework to anticipate the impact of our design. It allows us to project possible, plausible, and preferable futures, identifying actions that can help achieve the best outcomes while avoiding unintended consequences. Futures thinking techniques like "rigorous imagination", a technique pioneered by Elise Boulding, invites us to envision the world we want to create—an exercise in visualizing not just survival but flourishing.
A Framework for Designing with Dignity
I’ve developed a framework to help us think about designing for dignity. This approach encourages us to focus on reducing harm, promoting respect, supporting individual goals, inspiring hope, and infusing joy.
Reduce Harm: Begin by identifying potential harms and taking steps to mitigate them. From systemic inequalities to situational stressors, our designs should aim to create safe and supportive environments.
Promote Respect: Design policies and experiences that build trust, foster humane treatment, and support meaningful human connections.
Support Goals: Recognize that people have individual aspirations and desires. Designing to support these goals involves moving beyond transactional interactions to holistic experiences.
Inspire Hope: Help people envision new possibilities by instilling hope, which can inspire action and open doors to new opportunities.
Infuse Joy: Even in challenging contexts, find ways to bring moments of joy. In children’s hospitals, for instance, it’s essential to create spaces for laughter, play, and exploration, nurturing joy amid adversity.
A Call to Action: Making a Personal Commitment
I invite each of us to consider the commitments we want to make. What guiding principles will you bring to your work, your relationships, and your community? Tools like the “Designer’s Oath” (pictured below) can help us reflect on our values, and the “Design for Dignity Workshop Canvas” (Co-created by Ben Little and me) offers a way to integrate these values into our teams and projects.
The Designer’s Oath was invented by Ciara Taylor & Samantha Dempsey
Moving Forward
Ultimately, let love be your compass. Love drives action, reorders priorities, and fuels change. In design, as in life, we must strive to “go where the love is” and to embody the hope, compassion, and respect that dignity demands.
"Go where the love is." - Robin Glasgow
As we continue our work in human-centered design, let us keep dignity at the heart of our practice, creating systems and experiences that honor the worth of every individual. Because in the end, designing for dignity isn’t just about the work we do—it’s about the world we want to create.
Please take the opportunity to view this message of inspiration and hope, featuring my mom, Claire Putnicki.
Additional Resources:
Design for Dignity Conference: This content was presented at the 2024 Design for Dignity Conference (View the Slides). The 2025 conference will be held at Emory University in Atlanta with the theme "Dignified Futures". Stay tuned to the LinkedIn Group for updates.
Design for Dignity Remix Webinar: This content was also presented as a webinar. (View the Video Recording).
Reimagining government services eligibility in the state of MA
Design for Dignity Workshop Canvas: Courtesy of Ben Little and me. :)
The Designers Oath: Courtesy of Samantha Dempsey and Ciara Taylor
