Open AccessDesign for Emergency: An Open Platform to Design and Implement User-Centered Solutions in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Sara Colombo,
Paolo Ciuccarelli
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
strategic design research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 3
ISSN - 1984-2988
DOI - 10.4013/sdrj.2020.133.32
Subject(s) - pandemic , covid-19 , vulnerability (computing) , isolation (microbiology) , data collection , feeling , visualization , computer science , data science , public relations , computer security , engineering , political science , psychology , sociology , medicine , artificial intelligence , social psychology , social science , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
As a consequence of the lockdown enforced to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, people found themselves in a state of social isolation, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Design for Emergency is a data and design open platform launched to ideate and develop user-centered solutions addressing people’s needs and emotions during and after the lockdown. The project is made of four stages: data collection, data analysis & visualization, design, and implementation. The initiative started in Italy, but it soon became global, extending to 11 countries in three continents. As a result, we collected and visualized data about people’s experiences during the pandemic at a global level. Our ideas platform, still growing, includes 36 seed ideas of solutions helping individuals and communities cope with the pandemic. Ideas are openly available for development by anyone, and some of them are currently being implemented. This initiative can be used as a reference and a pilot project to create a framework for designing in situations of uncertainty, emergency, or crisis, where design can quickly discover and address emerging feelings and needs.