Can Design Survive in Chaos? Reconfiguring Design Education While Designing a Digital Interface for Covid-19 Data Collection in Brazil

Abstract

This article explores alternative practices in design education and project development experienced during the development of a digital interface for the COVID-19 Case Record Form. This form was prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to collect data from patients diagnosed with or suspected of having the disease. The project was carried out during April 1–7, 2020, by the author and a group of students from the Superior School of Industrial Design (ESDI) of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). The article describes the process and the product, focusing on pedagogical and methodological questions arising from the context of the emergency crisis in which the work was carried out.