Empathy By Design

About Empathy By Design

Empathy by Design is a podcast that dives into the heart of what it means to design for our shared humanity. Across the worlds of technology, wellness, and community, we explore how thoughtful, empathetic design can bridge divides, foster connection, and spark meaningful change. Each episode features conversations with innovators, creators, and change-makers who are reimagining the way we approach our world. From building tech that prioritizes people to cultivating wellness practices that truly heal, to shaping communities grounded in inclusivity, we deeply explore the process of designing with intention and care. Whether you’re a designer, a dreamer, or someone who simply believes in creating a more compassionate world, Empathy by Design is an invitation to imagine what’s possible when we lead with empathy.

Publisher

integratenetwork

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Apr 2025

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

31 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Oct 2026

   When Trust Breaks: SomaticUX and TrustWorks

   What happens when a healthcare process technically works—but the person inside of it can’t? In this episode of Empathy by Design, I’m joined by Katie Kurtz, creator of the TRUST framework, to break down a real-world healthcare case study through two lenses: Somatic UX and trauma-informed systems design. Pasted text The case centers on a 14-year-old autistic, Spanish-speaking patient who was expected to complete a standard mental-health wellness assessment. The process assumed language comprehension, emotional identification, cognitive capacity, and a particular way of communicating. When those assumptions didn’t match the person in front of the system, the assessment broke down—and so did access to care. Pasted text Katie and I walk through the case step by step, looking at orientation, trust, nervous-system capacity, communication, accessibility, choice, agency, and the hidden demands created by seemingly ordinary healthcare processes. We also explore what could have changed the outcome: interpretation support, visual communication, simplified language, caregiver choice, adaptable assessments, and better preparation for the actual range of humans who enter healthcare systems. Pasted text Pasted text Because this isn’t just about making patients more comfortable. When design fails the human, everybody loses: the patient may not receive care, staff inherit additional stress, the organization loses meaningful data, and trust in the healthcare system can rupture. Small design changes can alter that entire trajectory. Pasted text The question at the center of this case study:What changes when we stop asking why a person couldn’t complete the process—and start asking what their response tells us about the process itself?

2. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Designing for Trust, Before Care Begins,

   What if the intake process isn’t just something that happens before the real work begins? In this episode of Empathy by Design, Julie explores intake and evaluation through the lens of Somatic UX—and what changes when we design for the nervous system from the very first interaction. You’ll learn how to: recognize where uncertainty and cognitive load show up in an intake experience use orientation before pressure to support engagement and participation look at behavior as information about the interaction between the person and the system distinguish nervous-system-informed design from simply making an experience feel “calm” build trust through clearer expectations, meaningful choice, and accessible design identify small changes you can make to intake, onboarding, and evaluation processes without redesigning the entire system Whether you work in healthcare, digital health, UX, education, or another human-centered field, this episode offers a practical way to start asking a different question: Not just, “How do we get people through the system?” but “What does the system make possible for the person moving through it?” Want to go deeper? → Follow Empathy by Design for more conversations on Somatic UX, nervous-system-informed design, and human-centered systems. → Explore the Somatic UX framework and learn how it can be applied to healthcare, digital health, and organizational experiences. → Connect with Julie on LinkedIn for weekly Somatic UX insights and practical applications. → Share this episode with someone designing healthcare, UX, education, or other human-centered systems.

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Designing For Capacity, Not Just Task

   What if a system technically works—but quietly exhausts the people using it? In this episode of Empathy by Design, Julie Johnson explores a healthcare case study through the lens of Somatic UX, looking at how something as ordinary as scheduling joint visits can create hidden cognitive and capacity load. We’ll explore why usability isn’t only about whether someone can complete a task, how repeated communication loops and reorientation create invisible workload, and why adding more technology isn’t always the answer. Because good design doesn’t just help people get things done. It considers what the system asks people to carry in order to get there. This episode explores: Capacity as part of usability Hidden cognitive load in everyday workflows Why fewer decisions can create better experiences Trust as infrastructure Designing systems that give capacity back If you work in healthcare, learning, employee experience, service design, or organizational systems, this is an invitation to look beyond whether your workflow works—and start asking what it costs the humans inside it. Learn more about Somatic UX and my work with organizations:  www.letsintegrate.live Experience the work through the Let’s Integrate app: www.letsintegrate.live/app Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juile-johnson101/

Who has been a guest on Empathy By Design

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Annu French
• Dr Anu French
• Shannon Knight
• Sabrina Johnson
• Lydia Hooper

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 7 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

14

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact Empathy By Design

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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