Artful care for self and others in daily design practice

This paper examines how arts- and nature-based interventions can support thriving and mental health as an integrated part of daily design practice for freelance designers and one-person companies in precarious working conditions. The research is conducted as a practice-based, explorative case study at The Royal Danish Academy in collaboration with The Union of Architects and Designers (FAOD) and Design denmark and financed by The Velliv Association. Thirty-two professional designers participate in a course of two full-day workshops and two coaching sessions. Data consists of preliminary questionnaires and questionnaires after each workshop, observations and registrations during the workshops and coaching sessions. Findings show that many designers place their full day-to-day attention on the outer world, making them forget to listen to and care for inner worlds central to being creative, e.g., the experience of personal meaning, playfulness, vulnerability, personal needs, and boundaries. The arts- and nature-based interventions can help designers connect to deep inner resources that are easily forgotten in times of rapid change, uncertainty, competition, and conflict. This in turn changes their focus and level of kindness towards themselves and others, and through this, the way they tackle projects, clients, collaborators, finances, and their role as designers, leading to new learning and more holistic ways of contributing to the community