Design Innovation Update 4 | Health & Wellbeing

This fourth Design Innovation Update focuses on Health & Wellbeing. Design power is used to strengthen the resilience of young people and youth mental healthcare through close collaboration between designers, researchers, and the youth themselves.– By Twan Eikelenboom

Professor of Orthopedagogy Loes Keijsers (Erasmus University Rotterdam) emphasizes the importance of transdisciplinary work. By placing young people as experiential experts at the center and combining design skills with scientific knowledge, well-founded solutions emerge. Examples include the app Grow It!, which offers young people self-insight and resilience, and De Checkers, an online tool to help parents and caregivers better engage with youth.

Creative agency Shoshin works on systemic change in mental healthcare. By creating coherence between innovations and understanding the ecosystem, they aim for sustainable impact with projects such as Fit op Weg Poli.

Educational initiatives like Mentale Gymnastiek strengthen the resilience of children transitioning to secondary school. By encouraging children to share stories and involving parents, understanding and mental strength grow.

This edition shows how design, research, and experiential knowledge come together to create well-founded, impactful solutions in youth mental health and wellbeing.

These updates are based on the insights from the Design Innovation Sessions during Dutch Design Week 2024. Design power proves to be a versatile and powerful tool in addressing societal challenges.

Design by Thomas & Jurgen.
Photography and images: See captions, images used with permission from the creators and/or rights holders or sourced from provided press material.