This project focused on developing design solutions for challenges related to accessibility, information mediation, and medication use for people with disabilities—a population that constitutes nearly one-fifth of Israel’s residents. By identifying failures in existing interfaces, the course explored the potential to redesign the meeting point between body, culture, and the medical system.

The assignment addressed three main areas: mapping and making regulatory information accessible; designing a human-centered and empathetic user experience; and developing new visual formats that offer a fresh reading of the power relations embedded in medical objects. The work was carried out using persona-based scenarios—fictional characters drawn from real-life stories—which enabled the exploration of diverse needs and the development of applicable design responses.

The products developed in the course include a range of original solutions, such as: a smartwatch app for children with cognitive disabilities that provides daily visual guidance for medication management, emergency alerts, social feedback, and real-time support; discreet, aesthetically designed pill containers that serve as symbols of identification and community; a series of personalized printed scarves integrating information leaflets for psychiatric medication—an act of visibility and choice; and another smartwatch designed for children on chronic medication, supporting daily routines and encouraging independence.

The course promoted a critical yet practical approach, combining design tools with systemic thinking. Students worked with a values-based awareness of inclusion, equality, and visibility, producing applicable proposals that challenge both design and regulatory conventions. The projects received media coverage, and two were invited to participate in Milan Design Week.

After the Rehabilitation Department at Hadassah Hospital (Mount Scopus) expanded post-war, students collaborated with the team for a semester. They identified challenges in how patient information was managed and shared, especially during admission and discharge, where information was delivered inconsistently and without structure.

The goal became creating a clear, accessible system for staff to communicate information and for patients and families to understand it easily.

Three booklets were developed covering discharge, communication disorders, and memory issues, along with illustrated postcards explaining common conditions and communication tips. The materials use simple formats and consistent visuals for easy reuse and future updates. This marks the first phase of a larger system now being implemented at the hospital.

In May 2025, a first meeting was held in Wrocław, Poland, bringing together faculty and students from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and SWPS University, as part of a joint research initiative exploring the role of visual communication design in advancing social change. Over the course of three days, the group engaged in open dialogue, conceptual inquiry, and critical reflection on design as a social, educational, and theoretical practice.

Participants worked in three thematic groups: Design as Practice, Design as Pedagogy, and Design as Theory. Each group examined questions of professional responsibility, values-based pedagogy, methods for measuring social impact, and the ways in which design can shift norms rather than merely represent them.

The workshop laid the groundwork for the joint development of the “Social Impact Index”—a visual and content-based tool for mapping values, methods, concepts, and field examples. Each participant submitted a proposal for an individual project to contribute to the collective process.

The project is ongoing and evolving in stages: the next meeting will take place in November 2025 at Bezalel, and will include continued practical work, refinement of the proposals, and their presentation at an open symposium.

This is a dynamic, long-term research initiative seeking to redefine the space where design, society, and education meet.

Maktub is an independent translation initiative based at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. The works translated within the project are masterpieces of Arabic literature, intended for Hebrew-speaking readers. The collaboration between Maktub and the Social Design Lab emerged from the understanding that true accessibility—combining content and form to create a visual response that brings Arab culture to the forefront—can enrich the reading experience and make the texts more approachable.

As part of the collaboration, Maktub’s website was redesigned, and a contemporary trilingual visual language was developed. Guided by the Maktub team, the project involved an intensive group process encompassing research, the development of a distinctive graphic language, user experience design, and the creation of an accessible, responsive website.

The new site features a custom content management system, accessibility tools in all three languages, and a clean, respectful, and inviting reading environment. The project demonstrates how collaboration between cultural and educational institutions, alongside multilingual and multicultural work, can expand access to knowledge and connect communities through design.