Crisis: How to See & Seize the Design

By Holly Lynn Payne

This is the first part in a three part series on Designing Our Way Through Crisis.

Almost one year into the pandemic, our world is still deeply hurting. While the promise of a vaccine elevates our hope, we cannot deny the losses we will carry into the future. Our collective grief is a remainder—and a reminder—of what we have all lost and survived.

Our future will not exist without this trauma imprinting our lives forever. And yet, for many there is something palpable we cannot name, but sense is emerging. It is even feasible to say, looking back, that this crisis was not a curse after all but has offered many opportunities.

Crisis is designed to help us change what no longer serves us and it pushes us to grow. The Greek word for crisis is krisis and krino, which means separation. Sue Monk Kidd points out in her book, When The Heart Waits<