Keywords: Design.

The title of my PhD is “Clinic of the Future: Designing for Dialogues about Care.” The clinic of the future is an invitation to engage in dialogue about what the future of care can be. In this project, I explore art and design inspired communication methods, with the goal of questioning, challenging, and re-imagining the way we practice care within medicine. Some initial questions I am exploring include: What defines the clinic? How can we better see the person in need? What dialogues must take place to improve our understanding of care?

My research has two focus areas:

1. To experiment with and establish new design-based research methods to open dialogues about care with people inside and outside of medicine.
2. To use the insights, objects, and impressions collected from these conversations to better understand care and to re-imagine both the form and function of the clinic.

My hope is that this project can both challenge and expand the boundaries of design and medicine.

Amy van den Hooven: I am a multidisciplinary designer focused on re-imagining healthcare. My interest in improving the way care is provided comes from both a personal experience of living with an autoimmune disease and meeting many people suffering silently from both mental and physical health challenges.

My recent work has involved developing tool kits filled with tangible forms to help people communicate the complexity of their pain and illness experiences. I continue to explore the use of art and design methods to open-up dialogue with people inside and outside of medicine. The core of my practice is centered on designing experiences that allow for discussing, questioning, and re-imagining the way we provide care.

I am a Canadian that Graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of British Columbia (2015) and a Master in Design from the University of Bergen (2021). Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bergen, Norway.