The Designing to Empower Toolkit

The Design to Empower Toolkit is a multi-media, visually rich resource that values and is centred on young women with Type 1 Diabetes lived experiences of the intersection of body image, identity, condition management and dress. It has been developed to support clothing designers in understanding these experiences and needs, and to offer practical tools for integrating this understanding into their design practice. The toolkit concept emerged from co-design process in which Dr Rachael Hughson-Gill worked with group of young women to explore the experiences and challenges of living with and managing Type 1 Diabetes. Through this work young women showed they wanted and needed support for challenges with body image experience and collaboratively identified clothing as an innovative, and acceptable way to provide that support. It was decided this could be achieved, and hopefully have legacy, though a toolkit. The Designing to Empower toolkit presented here was developed with, and tested by, young women and clothing designers. Testing demonstrated that it can help designers better understand, empathise with, and design for the needs of young women with T1D. Full details of the development and evaluation process can be found in Rachael Hughson‑Gill’s thesis. The aim of this toolkit is to create meaningful change in clothing design. Please use it, share it, and comment on it so this work, and others like it, can develop and grow.