We recently connected with Wolfe Erikson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Wolfe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Design, to me, is not just about creating visually pleasing artifacts; it’s about making complexity more palatable. This innate ability to simplify intricate problems stems from my roots as a visual designer. I continue to grow my craft through a practice of noticing – conversations with inspiring people, taking long walks in nearby Washington forests, observing the ebb and flow of people in a city park, all help me to explore my curiosity. Design is a lens to view the world, much how photography changes the way you see things – design has a similar result.

I have received two different design trainings. First, I studied Visual Design at Chapman University. Then I attended the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design for training in Interaction design. These schools, in addition to on the job learning, have sharpened my process.

The skills that are integral to my design philosophy are: participatory design, trauma-informed design practices, and body-based approaches. Participatory design is not just a methodology but a mindset. It’s about involving users in the design process, recognizing their expertise, and co-creating solutions. This collaborative approach, yields designs that are not only more inclusive but also inherently resonate with the intended audience. Trauma-informed design is about designing with sensitivity and empathy while understanding the potential impact of design on individuals who may carry diverse and sometimes challenging experiences. This lens has allowed me to create spaces and experiences that feel safe and supportive. Then there’s the incorporation of body-based approaches, influenced by somatic experiencing. Design is not just a visual experience; it’s a visceral one. Understanding the language of the body, the subtle cues and responses, has enabled me to create designs that engage users on a deep, sensory level.

In essence, my journey in design has been a weaving of diverse skills, each thread connecting back to my roots as a visual designer. It’s about storytelling, simplifying complexity, and embracing methodologies that make design a holistic and empathetic practice. Whether in the pixels of a digital interface or the pathways of a serene forest, design is a lens through which I navigate and make sense of the world.

Wolfe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure, thanks for asking!

I work as a Health Innovation Designer, and maybe we should take a moment to define that. For me, Health Innovation is about systems thinking. It’s about holding the historical beginnings of something and how we hope it to feel in the future, equally in both hands. For example, healthcare in the United States is a mess – and part of that mess is the unintended consequence of its original design. The healthcare system was designed as an acute injury/disease treatment service, which is a model that breaks quite quickly with more complex, advanced, or chronic conditions. So, on one hand – we hold the historical evidence of acute models of health thinking, and on the other, we hold where we want to go – equitable and high-quality primary care for low-income populations. Health Innovation Design is finding a single step towards that goal.

I started my career as a visual designer and eventually worked my way into product design. I worked as an Experience Designer in the eCommerce field for about 3 years. During the Pandemic, my priorities drastically shifted as I saw such severe inequities happening, not only in my community but also in communities around the world. I decided to get a master’s in Interaction Design from The Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and used that opportunity as a lens to explore innovating for the world of health.

Since graduating, I have worked with biotech clients thinking about future solutions for diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and endometriosis. And a quick point of clarification – I am not a doctor or a medical professional; my role as a designer is to make all of the systems that speak to each other work a bit better. Currently, I am working with Nava PBC on the eMedicare team, thinking about how we might improve the Medicare experience for the population it serves.

My process sets me apart as a designer because trauma-informed design is the exception, not the rule. I have a deeply somatic approach to design and design thinking. Somatics, in my own words, are the reactions and feelings of the body and mind while interacting with something. So, I took my education of Interaction Design, how humans interact with something, and added the layer of the Nervous System, how the Nervous System feels in those moments, to craft my process. Because of this understanding, I have developed a process that is unique and can uncover accumulation points of trauma within a system that can be deeply traumatic.

My process brings me a lot of pride because it is something that I have spent a great amount of time feeling connected to. Design is a unique field in the way that when we align our work with lived experience, it becomes incredibly potent. Design is a map that I get to use for myself and with clients to help way-find solutions collaboratively. In addition to my work with Nava, I am currently building We Design Health, which is one part resources for people with complex health issues, and one part design studio for clients who want to build the future of health with technologies and services.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Absolutely,.

I wish there had been more transparency guiding me toward this path earlier. While I value the diverse experiences gained from exploring various careers, knowing about opportunities in this line of work would have motivated me to find a quicker route.

For me, the journey looked like this:
Visual Design –> Product Design –> Interaction Design –> Systems Thinking –> Health Innovation Design

(With significant time spent in each stage.)

While there is now a growing repository of free and affordable online design education, the unique design thinking I encountered in my Master’s program remains somewhat difficult to find. This gap was one of the reasons that inspired me to start my TikTok (@wedesignhealth), which you should absolutely follow.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had to pivot when I became disabled. Establishing firm boundaries became crucial to ensure I could care for myself in the way I needed. This shift still influences how I work today. For instance, clients requiring daily office presence are simply not a good fit for what my body requires.

Experiencing disability radicalized me like nothing else in my life. I had to devise solutions that didn’t exist to receive the care I deserved. Now that I’ve learned how to care for my body and found a work style that suits me, I collaborate with clients to provide services for them that are creating a kinder future for people navigating complex health issues.

I dedicate myself to being of service to these populations of people. I always try to learn, grow, and expand my worldview by listening to these groups of people who have needed to navigate such difficulty and systemic inequality for so long. I use my own experience as a personal intersection to expand my practice of anti-racism, feminism, trans-liberation, and queer joy.

Contact Info:

• Website: wolfe-erikson.design
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolfeerikson.design/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfe-erikson-4029214a/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wedesignhealth

Image Credits
All images were created by me and are process shots of my project IN·JOY, which is a digital community for people navigating chronic health issues.