Designing for Dignity: Elements of Practice

Dignity is a state of being, a quality of humanness inherent to each individual. It describes a sense of value, worth, honour, and respect for one's personhood—how we all individually navigate, independently experience, and uniquely perceive the world around us. It is the ultimate quality of being, a celebration of the human spirit, and the potential of each of us to live as fully as we define and determine. Dignity in design, therefore, requires an intentional examination of the human experience—how we process information and connect with the world around us, how we fundamentally seek survival and pleasure in all we do, how we react in the presence of adversity and stress, surprise and delight. And with this understanding comes empathy for what it means to navigate the world as a complex, conscious, affectable human beings. Designing for Dignity recognises the role of our built environment in supporting and fostering the health of individuals, neighbourhoods and communities. It acknowledges that nothing we design is neutral and that the places we inhabit shape our ideas about who we are and what we deserve. Drawing on broad multidisciplinary evidence and more context-specific lived expertise of end users in the spaces we design, Designing for Dignity aims to create places that protect, promote, and celebrate the dignity of life.