Empathy – What’s the Story?
Design for
creative methodologies, empathic relationships, penal reform
Year
2019-2020
A Critical Exploration of Empathy Within the UK Prison System
Empathy humanises us and our relationships. And yet, in prison, where the principles on which life and liberty depend are tested to the core, we might be inclined to ask where can empathy exist?
Through a mixed methods approach which weaves secondary research with findings from qualitative interviews this project delves into the topic of empathy within the UK prison system. The direction of the work developed from an initial critical look at empathy’s positioning within human-centred design and how, within the unique context of prison, empathy might be better understood and supported.
This project was a journey of exploration, through which Ellie was guided by the plural perspectives of individuals with first-hand experience of working, volunteering and researching within prison and by those who campaign for penal reform more widely. Two ‘outputs’: an illustrated booklet, Roadblocks to Empathy and a card activity Empathy – What’s the Story? emerged from key findings and draw directly on stories and insights generously shared with Ellie through research conversations.
Insight
What was your biggest takeaway learning from this project?
IDEO state, that in human-centred design “all you have to do is empathise, understand your user, and bring them along with you in the design process”. Ellie’s project opened her eyes to how incredibly complex and multidimensional the process of empathy actually is. And how problematic the portrayal of empathy, as a ‘tick-box’ task, within design might be.
What was a key method that you used for this work?
Stories became pivotal to this work. Stories underpin both project outputs. Rudine Sims Bishop highlights stories are key actants in three ways: as mirrors, to see our own experiences reflected; windows, to look and see the perspectives of others; and sliding doors, allowing entry into another’s perspective. The story/ statement concept Ellie developed for ‘Empathy- What’s the Story’ captures a truth Ellie was reminded of throughout her research – behind every subjective understanding, lies a story, a reasoning influenced by our own lived experience.
