Design for Grief




"For the last six months, I have dedicated my academics to the study of grief. The goal of my research is both phenomenological, understanding the emotional experience of grief, and sociological, examining how society responds to it. My research centers qualitative interviews to learn directly from those who have experienced loss. This data is supplemented by secondary research, landscape analysis, and public surveys.
Two key insights shaped the direction of my design:
In response, I am creating a children’s book about grief. Children’s books are not only for kids, but also for the adults who read to them. This format becomes a tangible narrative tool, offering vocabulary and metaphor to support intergenerational conversations about loss.
The story follows a young boy who notices an octopus following him after a loved one passes away. The octopus is a metaphor for grief, inspired by interviews where I asked, “If your grief were a creature, what would it be?”
As part of my exhibit, I designed a participatory activity inviting visitors to draw their own “Creature of Grief”. "