Susie Wise - Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities

Turn the page to explore moments to notice and investigate.

Hello! Im so glad youre here.

Belonging begins when we acknowledge each other as people. Typed words on a page may feel distant, but I wrote this book for you. And for us! Because when we work together, we can make the promise of belonging a reality. We can transform our homes, communities, and the world into stronger and more connected places. My hope is that you find a sense of belonging in these pages.

Since we are meeting for the first time, I will let you know that I am a cis-gendered, White woman, currently not living with a disability. I am positioned in our culture as a recipient of White privilege. I am doing this work as an anti-racist ally and equity designer, endeavoring to move the field of design forward using its tools to redesign unjust systems. I am hopeful that you will join me and use these tools to make change happen.

My work is varied, but all of it is rooted in belonging. My through line has always been to empower people to tackle issuesfrom school curriculum to community-based social justice to corporate cultureby designing new ways to learn and interact. Through this work I have come to recognize, and to truly believe, that belonging is the thing that matters most. And its not just my personal experience that proves it; the science is clear. Studies from researchers like Bren Brown, Claude Steele, and the Mindset Scholars Network show that belonging is the key that unlocks the best in everyone. Kids who feel they belong learn better in school. Elders with a sense of belonging stay healthy and aware. Immigrants who belong thrive in their new communities. Having a sense of belonging leads to flourishing in every environment and group, big and small, from your home to the culture at large.

Belonging helps us to be fully human. It gives us permission to share our talents and express our life force. It enables cooperation, collaboration, and the ability to work across difference. It emboldens our creativity and our problem-solving abilities. When people feel like they belong, they are able to be their best and do their best.

Design has the power to change things for the better, to address historic wrongs created through exclusionary design processes. If you want to create change, youve gotta make something. But you dont have to call yourself a designer to benefit from the information in this book; you just have to use its tools to make things happen. Whether you are a parent, manager, teacher, community organizer, or leader of almost any sort, you can design a space that helps people feel they belong. And thats what I explore in this book: the intersection of belonging and design. I like to express this intersection as belonging + design because it suggests that the process is additive, that were building something bigger. In this sense, belonging + design = new ways of bringing people together, or even new ways of being people together.

So how do you design for belonging? In the coming pages, Ill explore three essential elements: the feeling of belonging, the moments during which belonging occurs, and the process of shaping your context so belonging can emerge.