“I mean, I can lift a shovel”: Design Skills in Disaster Response

Key Insights

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  Disaster response benefits from diverse design skills including service design, visual design, database design, and user research.

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  After Hurricane Katrina, lack of inclusive service design led to services being used more by volunteers and workers than by those directly impacted.

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  Data management evolved from scraps of paper to shared Google Docs, which later served as evidence in a federal corruption case.

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  The Deepwater Horizon app failed because it ignored user context like literacy levels, connectivity issues, and cultural communication preferences.

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  Effective communication in crises requires rapid iteration and user-centered redesign, as exemplified by Luna Moore's work improving ExxonMobil’s COVID-19 emails.

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  Disaster recovery phases include preparation, warning, impact, relief, recovery, and stabilization, each requiring different design approaches.

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  Core disaster response teams should blend locals close to the disaster with remote helpers to leverage emotional stability and resources.

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  Minimizing user stress by simplifying communications and providing direct human contact is the most important design principle in disaster recovery.

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  User research in disaster settings relies heavily on in-person observation and conversations, rather than formal surveys or digital tools.

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  Designers are rarely formally recruited for disaster response; they must be proactive in identifying problems and plugging in to help effectively.

Notable Quotes