Mourning Routine: A Workshop Experience to Normalize Conversations about Death
Research | UX
Western funeral traditions have separated life from death, creating rigid timelines and rituals that have stigmatized the discussion of death and mourning. The bereaved are utilizing digital tools to express the expectations dictated by society while also serving personal needs to maintain relational continuity with the deceased. This project seeks to use storytelling and digital tools to resurrect the intimacy and personalization of dying, deathcare, and bereavement to encourage reform in the funeral industry and raise awareness on alternative approaches to expressing grief.
This research was completed for my master’s degree thesis project at New York University. Read more about my creative process on my thesis blog.
Proof of Concept - Video
In this video, I challenge you to think about your own death. How do you want to spend your last moments? What do you want to happen to your body? How would you like to be memorialized?
By the time death comes into a person’s life, it’s often too late for preparedness. Although it can be challenging, considering our own deaths can help us focus on reducing anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the end of life experience.
Prototyping and Exploration
Throughout my ideation process, I considered many vehicles to deliver my message, including: a "death spa" where participants are lead through guided meditation sessions; an exploratory installation that invites participants to answer the question "Where will you be when death calls?"; and, inviting participants to physically create and lay in their own custom deathbed. Other sketches on this page illustrate an AR pin to identify bereaved individuals and share digital memorial pages, and sketches for travel-sized or connectable urns. Read more about prototypes for this project.
The Creation of Mourning Routine
Curious Crafts for Resting in Peace
Based on a year of research and user testing, I created a workshop experience that:
Prompts individuals to contemplate their own death
Encourages conversations about death care preferences with family and friends
Helps normalize all reactions to grief - death does not discriminate, and there is no wrong way to grieve.
Mourning Routine is a community space for exploring the topic of death via hands-on workshops and crafts. Through it, we are designating space both digitally and communally for engaging in dialogue about death to promote mindful living. I chose the title “Mourning Routine” to evoke the idea of a daily ritual related to death—a modern memento mori.
The workshop follows three steps: personal reflection, a hands-on activity, and a share-out where participants discuss their creations.
Mourning Routine Activities and Crafts
Dealing with death will never be easy, but Mourning Routine makes it a little more fun. Gather your friends and family and select an activity to kick-start a discussion about dying. What legacy will you leave behind?
Mourning Routine Activity Book
The Mourning Routine Activity Book, Vol. 1, features 7 activities to guide reflection about your end of life plans. Activities include:
Design Your Ideal Deathbed!
Create Your Funeral Playlist!
Write Your Eulogy!
The Mourning Routine Activity Book is available for free download, so you can print at home and share your end of life plans with friends and family. Please note, this is for entertainment purposes only and not a legal document.
Bedazzle your Headstone or Urn
SUGGESTED MATERIALS:
Glue (stick or decoupage)
Glitter, sequins, jewels
Pipe cleaners
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Pom-poms
Old magazines
Stencils
Anything and everything colorful!
INSTRUCTIONS:
This activity can be completed by yourself but is more fun when completed with friends and family.
Begin by reflecting on the words, symbols, and ideas that you live by.
Download your own headstone (JPG) or urn (JPG).
Get creative! Add color, glitter, or craft accouterments; cut up images from magazines, photos, or drawings to create collages; write your favorite quote, lyric, or poetry; express the essence of you!
Display your design! Hang it in your room, office, or on your fridge.
Post on social media using #mymourningroutine and tag @mourningcrafts.
Mourning Routine Collection
Creations from Mourning Routine workshop participants.
