ABSTRACT
Design for emergency management is thus an emerging field, the goal of which is to explore academic and practice-based systemic approaches for evidence-based design in the specialized area of emergency planning, risk literacy and disaster risk reduction. Design thinking is a human-centered and iterative problem-solving approach that involves understanding people’s needs, defining problems, generating creative ideas, and testing and refining solutions. Common concepts in participatory design and design thinking include early user involvement; balancing people, technology and economics; multidisciplinary teamwork; and iterations of research, design, and evaluation to reach a solution. Inclusive design considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference. As human-centered design is based around empathy, designers come with an incredible toolkit to understand the intended audience and their needs at a deeper level, including before, during and after an emergency. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
