The Emotional Labor of Making Selves, Making Futures: Ethics of Care in Participatory Design Practice for Transformational Change

This article examines the emotional labor of creative practitioners engaged in social design with communities often labeled as “marginalized.” It highlights how setting up and facilitating participatory projects requires emotional labor, often invisible, and seldom acknowledged in design practice. Through a literature review and the analysis of data collected via interviews and workshops with social designers, we explore the ethics of care and researcher self-care practices that are needed in relational engagements. While much attention is paid to safeguarding participants, we argue for greater recognition of researcher self-care in emotionally charged contexts. Building on theories of “becoming,” and findings from our research conducted using vignettes and visual prompts, we also highlight how designers support processes of transformational change. In conclusion, we call for better preparation, training, and trauma-informed design processes to address the emotional labor of social design, enabling practitioners, organizations, and participants to sustain ethical and transformative practices.