Who We Are

The Health Design Studio

The Health Design Studio at OCADU works to bring an inclusive and interdisciplinary design approach to healthcare design challenges.
Much of the work focuses on design for safety critical and high sensitivity topics, including the dosing, ordering, tapering,
and management of opiates, and communication at end of life.

The Health Design studio is led by Dr. Kate Sellen, Director of
the Health Design Studio, with research associates.

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The Design x Health Research Innovation Lab

The Design x Health Research Innovation Lab aims to use design methods, practices and processes to improve lives by making them safer, easier, and healthier. Through design-based research, we generate and analyze evidence about people's healthcare needs, experiences, and behaviours. We are interested in collaborating with people and communities to build resilient, accessible, and equitable health futures.

The Design Health Research Innovation Lab is led by Co-directors
Gillian Harvey, and Aidan Rowe with numerous research associates.

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Current Research Team

Carlos Jarquin

Designer

Carlos Jarquin is a graduating student from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Design program and has previously completed a degree in Electrical Engineering with a Biomedical Option from the same institution. Carlos believes that addressing multifaceted human problems relating to disparities and barriers within healthcare requires a multidisciplinary approach. Previous experiences within healthcare design include collaborating with the Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control Laboratory, Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory, Academic Technologies, and the Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence. By designing preventative and translational healthcare interventions, Carlos hopes to continue contributing towards an inclusive future that reflects and respects the diversity of our shared world.

Sneha Pooranalingam

Designer

Sneha is a recent graduate from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Design. Driven by a passion for creating meaningful and visually compelling user experiences, she aims to balance functionality with aesthetics. Sneha views design as a powerful tool for communication, instruction, and entertainment, finding fulfillment and satisfaction with design that resonates and conveys impactful messages. When away from the computer, Sneha enjoys reading
a good book or visiting new restaurants in the city.

Shirley Yang

Designer

Shirley is a graduating student from the University of Alberta's Bachelor of Design program.
For her daily practice, Shirley focuses on health design, identity design, and UX design. Shirley enjoys discovering new design issues and researching creative design solutions that bring positive changes to people’s lives. Shirley strives to deliver sensible and dynamic design systems that will transform people’s experiences. The key part of her design process is the researching stage, where she discovers the users’ needs and desires and comes up with user-focused solutions through data-analyzing and problem-solving. Shirley is interested in animation and indie game development in
her free time.

Past Research Team

Mehrnoush Zeidabadi

Designer

Mehrnoush is a graduate student from the University of Alberta’s Master of visual communication design program. She specializes in user interface and user experience design, with a particular emphasis on the principles of participatory design. By using an empathetic and user-centric mindset, she consistently seeks to elevate the usability and accessibility of digital experiences, ensuring that each design not only serves its purpose effectively but also enriches the lives of its users. One of the most fulfilling aspects of Mehrnoush’s journey has been her collaboration with indigenous communities. She is deeply committed to preserving and promoting language and culture, working closely with indigenous groups to amplify their voices through design.

Gillian Harvey

Director of the Health Design Studio

Gillian is an Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Alberta. As an early career researcher, she has had extensive experience building interdisciplinary, collaborative teams. Gillian has served as the principal researcher leading two public health teams involving over a dozen collaborators from across Canada. In her recent work, she uses applied design research for the purposes of communicating medical procedures in emergency situations. Her research interest in signage and wayfinding has led to opportunities to explore and analyse wayfinding systems and their importance in urban growth and development within a city.

Kate Sellen

Director of the Health Design Studio

Dr Kate Sellen is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Design at OCADU and Canada Research Chair in Health Design (Tier 2). She leads the Health Design Studio at OCAD U and was the inaugural director of the Health Design Master’s Program. Kate spent her early career as an interaction designer leading design research, digital strategy, and interaction design in the private sector. She now works on bringing an inclusive and interdisciplinary design approach to healthcare design challenges. Much of her work focuses on design for patient safety in safety critical and on high sensitivity topics, including the dosing, ordering, tapering, and management of opiates, communication at end of life, and the issuing and delivery of blood units for surgery. She previously held positions at University of Toronto’s Technology for Ageing Gracefully Lab, Knowledge Media Design Institute, and AT

This DROE project also included many collaborators including:

  • Collaborator Mary Forhan is an associate professor and the Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta. Forhan has experience developing national and international symposiums for a wide range of audiences.

  • Collaborator Stephanie Vandenberg is an emergency physician in the Calgary Zone, Research Director
    for the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Clinical Lecturer at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. She uses a “research as advocacy” framework to engage discussions on health, harm reduction, and ways to improve vulnerable populations’ health outcomes through novel approaches using principles of social entrepreneurship and information design/visualization.

  • Collaborator Elaine Hyshka is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the U of Alberta. Hyshka’s program of applied health services and policy research focuses on advancing a public health approach to substance use in Canada. Hyshka has extensive experience developing patient engagement frameworks for vulnerable populations.

  • Collaborator Susan Sommerfelt is a former Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing,
    U of Alberta. Sommerfeldt brings a background in health care team development and inquiries into experiences of vulnerable populations, as well as designing and teaching courses in design thinking
    and innovation.

  • Collaborator Lianne Lefsrud is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Safety and Risk Management, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta. Lefsrud will take the lead on disseminating
    the work within different frameworks of risk and safety management in the workplace within her field.

  • Collaborator Daniel Laforest is a Professor in Modern Languages and Cultural Studies. Laforest will advise on the project in relation to his knowledge of health and narratives in the humanities.