Why the Future of Digital Design Needs to Be Trauma-Informed Online interactions can create stress responses in users, but if designers and developers received trauma-informed training, the benefits would go well beyond "do no further harm."
By Kelly L. Campbell Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Key Takeaways
- Trauma-informed design promotes user safety, trust and empowerment in digital spaces.
- Businesses benefit from trauma-informed design by fostering customer loyalty and engagement.
- Transparency and consent are crucial for building trust, especially in AI tools.
- Inclusive tech design should prioritize user well-being and minimize potential harm.
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Digital design shapes every interaction we have online, from checking our email to managing our healthcare to connecting with friends and family. For many people, these daily digital encounters can activate stress, anxiety and even re-traumatization.
The reality is that trauma isn't rare or exceptional; it's a fundamental part of the human story. Whether it's childhood adversity, systemic discrimination or workplace harassment, trauma shapes how we navigate the world — including our digital interactions. A seemingly minor design choice, such as an ambiguous error message, an inability to easily exit a process, or too large an array of options can echo past experiences of powerlessness, which can overwhelm the nervous system's ability to cope.
As our lives become increasingly less analog, we face an urgent question: How can we create online spaces that recognize and respond to the profound impact of trauma on user experience?
What is trauma-informed design?
Being trauma-informed in digital design starts by recognizing that the experience of trauma is common for all humans. It's not just the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), it's also experiencing betrayal from a friend or loved one, discrimination within our medical system or being humiliated at work, to name just a few. Unresolved trauma causes problems not only for entrepreneurs but for every human being trying to navigate daily life.
Being trauma-informed means we can recognize and understand the impacts of trauma — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — as real challenges that can last for years for individuals and communities alike. The apps, websites and services you build must consider this context. The best creators meet people where they are by keeping principles such as safety, trust and empowerment in mind. Trauma-informed principles have been crafted by experts and those with lived experience. They are applicable whenever and however you serve humans because trauma is a human experience.
Related: Inclusion and Accessibility in the Digital Space
Why do businesses need it?
No business owner would knowingly turn potential customers away. When people reach out for help or try to accomplish a daily task, the experience should be as welcoming and frictionless as possible. Without remembering the context of trauma, our expectations of the people we hope to serve are often much too high. People have shorter attention spans than ever before; if they have experienced trauma, they may be cognitively challenged, have fewer inner resources, and need more reassurance or assistance. "Small" things like a broken link can feel like a broken promise. Getting stuck in an interface without being able to easily leave or get help can feel like the powerlessness that occurs during traumatic events in childhood. These things drive customers away. Let's not push people away and recreate the dynamics of abuse.
When you use trauma-informed principles in digital design, people are more likely to engage with your organization and its app, website, products and services. Further, they may become long-term customers, allies or ambassadors of your company.
Related: How to Overcome Organizational Trauma — 4 Strategies for Post-Crisis Resilience and Growth
Why the tech industry needs this design change
It's no surprise that tech is behind in terms of inclusion. Being trauma-informed is a way to be more inclusive and reach more customers. Designers in tech need to catch up to other industries where trauma-informed workplaces are the norm. Doctors, nurses, counselors, coaches, school teachers, law enforcement officers are looking at their behaviors, products, policies, and systems. Now, tech professionals need to consider how the context of trauma affects the people they serve. Trauma-informed design is an inclusive way to create products and services that meet the needs of more people.
For example, trustworthiness and transparency are important for being trauma-informed. One common form of interaction online is a form. You could make it clear why you are asking for information and avoid extra items.
Last year, a music service asked me my gender when I signed up. I couldn't skip the question. Why did it need that to allow me to use their platform? You can also make it really clear where information that is put on a form is going. Can I reach the group behind the form? Could I get my information back? And at the end of every form, it must be clear what will happen next and when. These actions build trust with users before they ever interact or if they never interact with a human at your company.
AI and trauma-informed design
One of the biggest challenges of artificial intelligence is that it's a black box to many people — including its users. Without transparency, AI cannot be trauma-informed. It must be clear what training data is being used for the AI model and what happens to the questions and data that users put into the system. Any AI tool must be safe to use and not just another data-grabbing digital tool that tracks people without informed consent.
However, there are valuable ways that AI could assist technology and tech teams to be more trauma-informed:
- Provide personalization by adapting a website or app, for example, recognizing needs and preferences around language and adapting the content or reading level;
- Create well-functioning chatbots to provide instant support instead of making folks wait for live chat or a call center to open;
- Assess sentiment quickly through user reviews, feedback or comments toward an app or website, which can help address concerns and improve rapidly;
- Analyze unusual patterns of behavior on websites more quickly to identify security risks and fraud for consumers.
As designers, developers and business leaders, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to reshape the digital landscape. The future of digital design is one where we proactively consider the lived experiences of every individual who interacts with our products and services. It's a future where we approach technology development with deep empathy, transparency and a commitment to doing no further harm. Most importantly, it's a future where digital spaces become sites of healing, belonging and human flourishing.
