Creativity During Crisis—Designing Hope

This concludes the three-part series Designing Our Way Through Crisis

By Holly Lynn Payne

The pandemic has made us pros at expecting the unexpected. Our lives—and psyches have undergone a collective experiment in letting go and surrender. We’ve all navigated cycles of uncertainty, which gave us a bit more grit and a lot more gratitude. And from this sense of appreciation—a new view of our life is emerging.

When we view design thinking as agency, a crisis tasks us with choice. What will you make of this? it asks us. How will you allow it to remake you?

We know that this crisis took from us—but it also gave. We’ve gained strength, wisdom, more time, deeper relationships. Some of us found appreciation for the ways we were forced to slow down, drive less, cook more, buy less. And at times, we were confronted with things that didn’t go as planned, when we lost our patience—or our minds (momentarily), our jobs, homes, or far worse, those we loved.