Photo by Kahmin Ong, Visualizing System Complexities and Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives through Co-design Approaches to Improve the Wheelchair Acquisition and Service Delivery Process, MFA 2025.
We invite graduate students to join our investigation into co-designing for health and wellness. Leveraging a combination of human-centric design principles, co-design methodologies, and innovative visual techniques, your graduate study will focus on improving communication, inclusivity, and the overall effectiveness of co-designing health initiatives. It will explore how visual methods can foster enhanced collaboration between design practitioners and non-design stakeholders, facilitating greater empathy, understanding, and engagement in the co-design process. The intended outcome is to provide a framework for incorporating visual methods into co-design strategies focused on health and wellness, thereby improving their accessibility and impact.
Keywords
Co-design; Participatory design; Generative design research toolkits; Visual methods; Health and wellness
Advising Team
Current and Recent Students Working on the Project
Kahmin Ong’s thesis topic is Visualizing System Complexities and Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives through Co-design Approaches to Improve the Wheelchair Acquisition and Service Delivery Process. She anticipates completing her MFA in 2025.
Tan Ying Lin Valeska’s thesis topic is Exploring Social Isolation, Loneliness and Boredom in the Cancer Patient Experience. She anticipates completing her MFA in 2026.
Mahkameh Mallahzadeh’s thesis topic was Empowering Marginalized Voice in Healthcare: A Co-design Approach to Foster Equitable Futures, MFA, 2024.
Profile Description and Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in collaborative environments and ability to work well with diverse groups of people.
- An innovative and critical thinker who can approach complex health and wellness issues with creative solutions.
- A keen interest in improving healthcare experiences and outcomes through innovative design.
- Familiarity with design software and tools, understanding of co-design methodologies, and ability to create and
understand visual data representations.
Additional Information
Sanders, E.B.-N. and Stappers, P.J. (2012) Convivial Toolbox: Generative Research for the
Front End of Design. BIS Publishers, NL.
Lavender, S. A., Sommerich, C. A., Sanders, E. B.-N., Evans, K. E., Li, J., Radin Umar, R. Z. and
Patterson, E. S. (2019), Developing Evidence-based Design Guidelines for Med/surg Hospital
Patient Rooms that Meet the Needs of Staff, Patients, and Visitors, HERD: Health Environments
Research & Design Journal, First published June 13, 2019.
Emily Patterson, Steve Lavender, Carolyn Sommerich, Kevin Evans and Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders,
(2018) "A Grounded Theoretical Analysis of Room Elements Desired by Family Members and
Visitors of Hospitalized Patients: Implications for the Modern Hospital Patient Room, Health
Environments Research & Design Journal.
Flinn, S., Sanders, E.B.-N., Yen, W.-T., Sommerich, C. and Lavender, S. (2013) Empowering
elderly women with osteoarthritis through hands-on exploration of adaptive equipment
concepts. Occupational Therapy International, 20(4).
Visualizing Stress–In-person and Virtual Co-designing with Chart-Based Tools, Y Shen, EBN
Sanders - … With Design: Reinventing Design Modes: Proceedings …, 2022
Identifying barriers and facilitators to diet and physical activity behaviour change in type 2
diabetes using a design probe methodology, KA Cradock, LR Quinlan, FM Finucane, HL Gainforth,
KA Martin Ginis, .., Journal of Personalized Medicine 11 (2), 72
Staging co-design within healthcare: lessons from practice, EBN Sanders - Staging Collaborative
Design and Innovation, 2020
Collaborating with mammographers to address their work-related musculoskeletal