Over the past two decades there has been a 30% increase in suicides in the United States. Suicide rates on university campuses, while lower than national rates, are similarly increasing. In particular, campus parking garages have become ‘suicide hotspots’ for these tragic incidents. To address this, specific locations install structural interventions (barriers, safety nets, etc.) at the edge of higher levels to prevent access. In design, these interventions are considered coercive (or direct) solutions, designs that force individuals to do or not do a specific activity. However, as Johan Redström observed, “the rise of user- centered approaches has led designers to concentrate their professional activities on lifestyle and user- experience through the design of information, services and systems” for all individuals. This focus shifts to the development of contextually fitted and effective interventions while seeking motivational (or indirect) solutions rather than coercive. Together, mental health professionals and designers alike understand that there is no single factor that causes suicide. Therefore, part of this solution is needing many solutions. The purpose of this exercise is to offer an approach wherein experience design and motivational solutions may contribute to parking garage suicide hotspot solutions. This move away from a coercive-centric solution (although a coercive element may remain) may positively affect the mental health perceptions for all parking garage users. The resulting student-designed prototypes provide an array of novel motivational designs that validate this approach and contribute to this important discussion.
Over the past two decades there has been a 30% increase in suicides in the United States. Suicide rates on university campuses, while lower than national rates, are similarly increasing. In particular, campus parking garages have become ‘suicide hotspots’ for these tragic incidents. To address this, specific locations install structural interventions (barriers, safety nets, etc.) at the edge of higher levels to prevent access. In design, these interventions are considered coercive (or direct) solutions, designs that force individuals to do or not do a specific activity. However, as Johan Redström observed, “the rise of user- centered approaches has led designers to concentrate their professional activities on lifestyle and user- experience through the design of information, services and systems” for all individuals. This focus shifts to the development of contextually fitted and effective interventions while seeking motivational (or indirect) solutions rather than coercive. Together, mental health professionals and designers alike understand that there is no single factor that causes suicide. Therefore, part of this solution is needing many solutions. The purpose of this exercise is to offer an approach wherein experience design and motivational solutions may contribute to parking garage suicide hotspot solutions. This move away from a coercive-centric solution (although a coercive element may remain) may positively affect the mental health perceptions for all parking garage users. The resulting student-designed prototypes provide an array of novel motivational designs that validate this approach and contribute to this important discussion.
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