Beginning Research (9/16-9/22)
For the week of September 16-20, I began doing research for my Senior Thesis. Before I go to deep into building concepts and ideating upon them, I need to know more about the space I’m interested in. The topic of grief and loss is complicated and has many layers embedded into it. Though I have experienced loss myself, I don’t know everything about it. I especially need different perspectives to gain a better understanding.
Secondary Research - Articles
I looked for scientific articles that talk about grief, loss, death, and even memory. These topics are intertwined and have many overlaps. I also tried to focus on articles that were current, in order to have the most up-to-date information possible.
Grieving a Parent’s Death at a Young Age: A Loss That Lingers
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/31/opinion/letters/grief-childhood-parents.html
Aug. 31, 2019 \\ Readers discuss how losing a parent changed their lives and continues to affect them.
“No therapist ever asked me about grief and mourning.”
“We also need to clarify the distinctions between grief — which is a normal, adaptive reaction to loss — and two clinically significant conditions: complicated grief and major depression.”
“Bereavement usually occasions grief, which doesn’t require professional intervention. But if grief is not eventually integrated into the larger fabric of the person’s life, it can emerge as ‘complicated grief,’ which can be extremely debilitating.”
The death of a close friend hits harder than we think
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190513143835.htm
May 13, 2019 \\ The trauma caused by the death of a close friend endures four times longer than previously believed, according to new research. (Australian National University)
“The researchers warn a lack of recognition about the time it takes people to mourn a close friend is leading to inadequate support being made available during the grieving process.”
“… affect a person's physical, psychological and social well-being up to at least four years.”
“Lead author Dr Wai-Man (Raymond) Liu said the study found people grieving a close friend suffered a significant decline in physical health, mental health, emotional stability and social life.”
"We all know that when someone loses a partner, parent or child, that person is likely to suffer through a significant grieving period.”
"Yet death of a close friend, which most of us will experience, is not afforded the same level of seriousness by employers, doctors, and the community.”
After the death of a friend, healing in a human social network
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170424110853.htm
April 24, 2017 \\ The first large-scale study of recovery and resilience after a death in a friend group -- based on analysis of interactions in 15,000 anonymized networks on Facebook -- finds that when a friend dies, we get closer to that person's friends. The social network repairs itself in ways that keep our total connectedness the same. (University of California - San Diego)
“Wounds heal -- the cells in a body knit over a cut. When a neuron dies, the brain can rewire itself to make up for the loss. And now, new research suggests, something similar seems to happen within a human social network after the death of a friend.”
“… human social structures are resilient to death. When a friend dies, we get closer to that person's friends, with the network repairing itself in ways that keep our total connectedness the same.”
"It was a surprise to see just how much people came together after a mutual friend's death and how long this persisted. Friends and acquaintances of the deceased increased interactions with each other not just immediately after the death, in the acute grieving period, but for years afterward," Hobbs said.
“A major exception was suicide. Friend networks experiencing suicide did not recover to the same extent. This is an area that could obviously, Hobbs said, use further investigation.”
The grief experience survey shows it’s complicated
July 11, 2019 \\ People grieve a lost friendship or relationship at a level similar to the death of a close family member or friend -- and no matter what you’re grieving, other people may expect you to bounce back long before you’re ready, a new WebMD survey finds.
“Many of us have the misperception that there’s a right way to grieve, and most people think they’re doing it wrong,” says Donna Schuurman, a family therapist and senior director of advocacy and training and at the Dougy Center, a Portland, OR, nonprofit that helps people deal with the death of a loved one. “We live in a society that wants us to get over it and move on.”
“… five stages mourners pass through on their way to recovery: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.”
“But the survey showed that grieving is not a “one size fits all” experience -- either in what people grieve for or how they experience it.”
The death of a friend can be as traumatic as losing a family member
May 20, 2019 \\ Losing a close friend can take a heavy toll on a person’s health and wellbeing, Liz Forbat and Wai-Man Liu have discovered. So why is that grief not taken seriously by employers or doctors?
“The death of a friend is a loss that most people face at some point in their lives – often many times. But it is a grief that may not be taken seriously by employers, doctors or others. The so-called hierarchy of grief, a scale used to determine who is considered a more legitimate mourner than others, puts family members at the top. For this reason, the death of a close friend can feel shunted to the periphery and has been described as a disenfranchised grief.”
“We discovered that, far from being a trivial loss, the health and wellbeing of people who lose a close friend suffer a heavy toll in the four years after that loss.”
“These findings suggest we need to take the death of a close friend more seriously and to change the way we support people who are suffering from such a bereavement.”
“Friends are psychological kin, that is, you may even have a stronger bond with friends than people you are related to by birth or marriage. So when a friend dies, the psychological and emotional stress can be as bad as the death of kin.”
“As your social circle shrinks, you become less resilient to grief because you lose a key source of emotional support from your social network.”
Secondary Research - Existing Projects
After looking through current news and science articles, I gained a better understanding of how grief and loss and perceived from a more analytical perspective. But I was interested to see how other designers have approached this topic, and what types of mediums they experimented with.
Once I began searching for these types of projects, I realized there isn’t a large quantity of projects in this space. Additionally, only 1 project out of the 7, are from this year 2019. The rest are a few years back and up to 8 years old. This shows a huge gap in projects designing for the grief experience.
Remember, A Journal for the Grieving individual \\ jason Pallotti
April 23, 2011 \\ Olivia's House - Grief Journal
Olivia's House is a place where children and adults of loss can experience a program in which they find comfort and understanding through 8 weeks of healing. This Journal is part of their experience, where they have an opportunity to write down feelings, paste pictures, and reflect on the whole Olivia's House program.
The basic theme surrounding the journal is a grid system and the color blue. Blue being a color of serenity and tranquility. The grid system represents the meaning behind the square which is a structure of support and foundation. Throughout the book original photography and motivational quotes prompt the reader to reflect on their feelings.
Death + Technology | Machine for Social Grief \\ Nic Der
December 29, 2014 \\ Machine for Social Grief
After the tragic death of a friend of mine, I observed how social media played a role in connecting people in far-flung parts of the country as they grieved together.
In the web 2.0 age, your online persona and connections are every bit a part of your identity as your IRL possessions and relationships. After you die, those digital traces remain for a while, but eventually will fade and be forgotten. How do you translate those traces into a physical object that acts like a memento or urn - activating memory and nostalgia for the survivors.
This machine creates a physical recording of someone's social media activity after they die. It lives with a close friend or family member. As mentions of the deceased are made online, a basin of ink ebbs and flows with the activity. A one-time performance, once the water evaporates, what is left are the rings of pigment marking the activity; a permanent record.
Memorial Hub \\ Jo Szczepanska
https://www.behance.net/gallery/19532079/Memorial-Hub?tracking_source=search%7Cgrief
September 4, 2014 \\ Cut from beneath the bedrock of urban centers Memorial Hubs are a global network of bereavement centers that take full advantage of technology, and subterranean solitude to provide mourners with uniquely personal remembrance experiences.
Sites to mourn the departed play a significant role in grieving. Across centuries man has excavated graves, set headstones, maintained memorials, and fashioned countless funerary urns, all in an attempt to rightfully commemorate the dead. These are artifacts, large or small all act as triggers to many of the rituals associated with death and grieving. Initially they provide places where mourners can pay their respects, later becoming spaces that are symbolic of the ties between the living and those who have passed away.
The concept of Memorial Hubs questions the constraint of having one singular place to grieve someone close. As an alternative to the existing system, together they create a network of memorial centers providing families and communities places they can honor, remember and celebrate the dead together no matter where they are geographically.
Memorial Hubs are a response to two specific challenges that funeral services will need to undertake in upcoming decades; urbanization and increased rates of global migration.
Accommodating Grief \\ Samantha Goldsmith
https://www.behance.net/gallery/38348551/Accommodating-Grief?tracking_source=search%7Cgrief
June 13, 2016 \\ This project is making the cemetery space a more effective place for grieving, helping those that have lost someone.
This project is making the cemetery space a more effective place for grieving, helping those that have lost someone. A service that would be provided by each cemetery which will allow one to write their messages to their loved ones by using these series of tools and then having their own individual memorial post for these messages to be put by the graveside. This makes it a more personal space, which will hopefully make one feel more connected to their loved one when visiting and potentially aid their grief by allowing an outlet for their emotions.
Alife \\ Carlos
https://www.behance.net/gallery/36383471/Alife?tracking_source=search%7Cgrief
April 22, 2016 \\ Creation of brand and visual identity, conceptualization and usability of a new social network that allows to share moments and memories with people who shared the life of loved ones who are no longer among us. A tool that helps turn pain for the loss of a loved one into a beautiful memory of everything you have shared.
A social network that allows family and friends to connect and collect the most important moments and memories of the life of those who are no longer between us.
Copeful: Get Through Grief Together \\ Megan Daley
July 20, 2015 \\ Copeful is a tablet application that combines technology and creativity to help adults and children discuss and share their grief.
Losing a loved one is a difficult and heartbreaking part of life. For children, this is especially true as they learn to navigate many new, complex emotions. Copeful is a tablet application that combines technology and creativity to help adults and children discuss and share their grief. Addressing death and helping children express themselves can be emotional, difficult and often unfamiliar for adults. Copeful aims to increase communication through personal and shared experiences, helping individuals work through their grief together.
Sam’s Forever Garden \\ Ozan Tortop & Maya Bora
https://www.behance.net/gallery/73967199/Sams-Forever-Garden?tracking_source=search%7Cgrief
March 5, 2019 \\ Sam’s Forever Garden, a picture book about grief and loss.
“Sam's dad has travelled to Sam's Forever Garden. But where is this Forever Garden? Come along and help Sam as she goes through her journey to find out where her dad is.”
A picture book that aims to encourage children to understand personal feelings and how to express them as first steps in dealing with loss.
Primary Research - Interviews
I want to gain insights from various perspectives. While I try to figure out how to contact professionals in the field to interview, I set out to interview 2 people to gain their perspective on loss. Prior to these interviews, I attempted to write an interview guide. After beginning my first interview, I decided, it was best to frame it as an open conversation about grief. It’s a sensitive topic that is very personal to people - it didn’t feel right to frame it as numbered questions. Also, it’s hard to follow a guide, when everyone’s experiences are so drastically different. Depending on who I talk to, the questions change every minute.
Miriam Rosas
25 years old \\ Female \\ Photo editor @ Airbnb \\ Hasn’t experienced loss
“As much as you want to prepare for it, you can’t.”
“In Mexican culture, prayers help them cross to the other side.”
“My uncle has diabetes and is slowly going blind. My mom keeps telling me to call him, but I haven’t yet because I don’t want to face it. I’ll regret it if I don’t call, but I don’t want to face it right now. It’s so selfish of me.”
“Día de los Muertos - The time period where the dead can visit you. You have a picture of the ones who have passed, you provide food, drinks, items, and bread of the dead (specific to Día de los Muertos). Some people see them in their dreams. It’s essentially a Mexican Halloween, but instead of candy, they give out fruit. And instead of saying anything at the door, you kneel down and pray for their passed ones - it’s an exchange.”
“Death is always at the back of my head.”
“I didn’t remember anything before birth and I don’t think I’ll worry about anything after death so how would I be sad about it?”
Angelica Quach
21 years old \\ Female\\ Studying Biology and Computer Science @ uC Berkeley \\ has experienced loss
“Before experiencing death I felt very detached from it.”
“There’s a feeling of helplessness because you can’t help the people [around you] and you can’t stop death. And no matter what everyone deserves the same care, can’t get caught up with circumstances (in reference to her experience as an EMT).”
“I talked to my grandma about Lim (referencing David Lim who passed in 2018) and we had mature conversations about death. For her, she started writing a will when she first entered the hospital. I also asked her ‘why do people die a different times?’ because she’s really religious and I wanted to get her perspective. When I was telling her how great Lim was, she told me ‘maybe they wanted him back.’”
“It’s strange not being able to go to their funeral (regarding David Lim, whose funeral was held in Korea). Even though we had a vigil and a place to ‘visit’ him, it’s not the same. I want to visit him. It’s not satisfying to just pray.”
Reflections
After learning more about the space around death, loss, and grief, I realized that there aren’t a lot of projects done in the space, and there’s a huge opportunity for something to be done within this topic. All the articles about death and loss explain how it affects us, as humans, and how grief shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s no true solution to this normal process of life, but how can we make it easier for those experiencing it?
It was exciting to learn that there is still a big opportunity to design something within the grief experience. However, I only realized I still have a lot of research to do, and will look more into books and people who are more involved in this topic. I will focus on topics of: vulnerability, different culture’s outlooks on grief, anticipatory grief, and more.
This coming week, I will continue primary research through interviews - gaining insight on how people perceive loss. I will also continue secondary research to learn more about the topic above, and see how this information can help me during interviews and ideation. I’ve scheduled 4 more interviews with people who have and haven’t experienced loss. I have also reached out to other people to gain there insight on my topic, how to approach it, and if there is anyone they can refer me to.