Design
I invite the body in to design for wholeness and belonging
My Approach
We are what we practice. Everything we create is shaped by our way of being—our posture, perspective, energy, intention. I bring attention and intention to my social design practice through somatics, a methodology for transformation with and through the integrated mind, body, and spirit in its wholeness.
I take a somatic approach to design for two reasons:
1) It connects me to information stored in my body—my intuition, emotions, sensations, imagination, longings, boundaries. This is different than that which comes from my mind, but equally critical to good design.
2) It generates a design that is more embodied—meaning it is more likely to encourage the people interacting with that design to be more connected to their bodies, other people and beings, and place.
I believe this connection is ultimately what we need more of in our world. So my somatic design practice is also my theory of change for collective transformation.
This figure is a visual representation of how the design process can 1) embody values more holistically through somatic design methods (vertical image of iceberg) and 2) generate change at scales beyond what is being designed itself from the service/design ecosystem to society and systems (concentric circles).
A version of this figure was published in my article "'Somatic Design': Engaging the Body for Climate Healing" published in Touchpoint, the Journal for Service Design, Vol. 12 No. 3, October 2021.
My Work
We Become is a collective that is working toward building capacity within the design field to integrate embodiment into the design process. Ultimately, our vision is a world in which everything we design helps people reconnect to—rather than disconnect from— their integrated mind, body, and spirit as a pathway toward more authentic and purposeful action. We believe this is a foundation for systemic change toward collective liberation, climate repair, and a regenerative future.
Workshops & Trainings
I offer 1-hour to full-day engagements to support clients and design teams in:
-
Visioning
-
Skill-building
-
Learning and practicing somatic design tools
Process Facilitation & Coaching
I offer longer and in-depth engagement with clients and design teams to:
-
Apply somatic design methods to a specific project designing a service, program, organization, or experience
-
Integrate methods holistically into your design practice
Recent Engagements
2018 | Co-founded a Service Design for Climate Working Group with the Service Design Network's San Francisco Chapter |
2018 | Spoke on a panel "Service Design Wrangles Climate Change" alongside Oakland's climate justice director and other leaders in the field |
2018 | Collaborated with AIGA Seattle to evaluate and improve their Changemaker Series program, a human-centered design bootcamp for social impact |
2019 | Co-presented with Aran Baker of Cohere Design Lab at the Service Design Network Global Conference in Toronto, Ontario entitled "Designing our Future Today: Service Design at the front lines of climate resilience" |
2019 | Spoke on a panel "From Awareness to Action: Service Design for Climate Action" hosted by Bridgeable in Toronto, Ontario |
2019 | Co-created a workshop for the Seattle Design Festival with dancer Jasmmine Ramgotra and artist Mari Shibuya to support participants in processing and moving through climate anxiety and grief toward grounded action |
2020 | Facilitated a workshop for designers in the Earth-Centered Design community to engage in creative expression, somatic practice, and reflection to connect to a body-centered approach to design |
2021 | Presented about climate trauma and designing for repair in adaptation and mitigation at Northwest Climate Conference |
2021 | Launched We Become, a collective that seeks to integrate somatics into design practice to support more embodiment, belonging, and liberation |
2021 | Published "‘Somatic Design’: Engaging the Body for Climate Healing" in Touchpoint, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2021 about body-centered design practices that show potential for transforming values and systems |
2021 | Gave presentation about a somatic and trauma-informed approach to designing artistic experiences to Miami-based artists participating in the Arts & Climate Initiative Incubator program |
2021 | Facilitated workshop about somatic design with designers at a studio that is a nationwide leader in social impact design |