What should collaborative design look like for social impact work, to be ethical, inclusive, and truly serve the needs of a community? This case study examines a partnership between college students and a nonprofit organization which delivered civic media to be used by the nonprofit. Students engaged in multiple UX disciplines—including graphic design, writing, accessibility, and game design—while ensuring their contributions aligned with the community's needs. Initial meetings and activities focused on building trust and fostering relationships. Collaborators were trained in non-oppressive community engagement techniques. Only then did the work of co-creation for design milestones begin. The talk will share project successes, failures, and key lessons learned—including the challenges of navigating design constraints, being accountable to the community, and laying the groundwork for sustainable collaborative work.

1. Collaborative Design
for Social Impact Work
David Kelleher
Emerson College
david_kelleher@emerson.edu

2. 2
Transforming
Narratives of Gun
Violence
Stakeholders
Emerson College Engagement
Lab
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
Massachusetts General Hospital

3. Sand Tray Therapy Adapted for VR and Card Deck
3

4. 4
Let’s Play!
Gamification of a healing activity for
urban communities, which prompts
the start of difficult emotional
conversations to help promote cycles
of peace.

5. 5
Principles of Ethical and Accountable
Community Engagement
● Trust and Relationship Building

6. 6
Principles of Ethical and Accountable
Community Engagement
● Trust and Relationship Building First
● Center the Needs and Stories of the Community
● Give Community Agency to Shape how they
Contribute
● Recognize Diversity of Experiences and Opinions
● Consider Power Structures and Positions of Privilege
● Active Listening—Reflect Before Responding
● Create an Assessment Plan for Mutual Benefit

7. 7
UX—Graphic Design
Style Guide for
Consistency

8. Co-Writing Content
at Community Event
8
UX—Writing

9. Game Design Rules and Experiences by Emerson
College Students and Peace Institute Staff
9
UX—Game Design

10. 10
Example of a User Experience Design Challenge
Inconsistencies resulting from
the compromise solution
confused game testers and
couldn’t be packaged by the
publisher.
Peace Institute’s Both/And
Philosophy required inclusion
of content that was
incompatible with the co-
created game mechanics.
Consensus-building
techniques resolved the
conflict with a unusual card
design that satisfied everyone
and all UX concerns.

11. 11
Outcomes
General Public:
7/10 - Interesting idea.
Peace Institute Community:
10/10 - Amazing healing tool!

12. 12
● Commitment to Social Impact
Work
● Design for Marginalized Audiences
● Co-Creation for Difficult UX
Problems
Takeaways

13. Questions?
13
Questions?
David Kelleher
Emerson College
david_kelleher@emerson.edu