Agent skill · design visual · erichowens
design-justice
Digital equity and trauma-informed design for marginalized populations. Activate on "accessibility", "offline-first", "trauma-informed", "reentry", "recovery population", "shared device", "unstable
Why this skill is useful
Provides specific design patterns and implementation checklists for trauma-informed and equity-centered digital design that are not widely known.
What it needs
About 7k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-07-14. 180 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Design Justice: Equity-Centered Digital Design Design for the margins, benefit the center. If it works for someone with no stable phone, unstable housing, trauma history, and low digital literacy → it works better for everyone. Philosophy Design Justice (Sasha Costanza-Chock) + Trauma-Informed Design + Digital Equity Design Core principle: The people most impacted by design decisions should be centered in the design process, not treated as edge cases. When to Use ✅ Use for: Apps serving recovery/reentry populations Government/civic tech applications Healthcare portals for vulnerable populations Housing/benefits applications Legal aid and court self-help tools Nonprofit service delivery platforms Any app used on shared/public devices ❌ NOT for: Enterprise B2B SaaS (different constraints) Marketing funnel optimization Gamification/engagement maximization Social media features General "make it pretty" UX requests --- Decision Tree: Which Pattern Applies? --- Pattern 1: Authentication Without Stable Phones Anti-Pattern: Phone-First Auth Novice thinking: "Everyone has a phone, SMS 2FA is secure" Reality: 25% of formerly incarcerated people lack stable phone access Phone numbers change frequently during housing instability Prepaid phones get disconnected for non-payment SMS 2FA locks people out of critical services Timeline: Pre-2020: SMS 2FA considered best practice 2020+: Code for America documented access barriers 2024+: Email-first + backup codes emerging as standard for civic tech Correct Patterns Need Pattern Implementation ------ --------- ---------------- Primary auth Email-first Email is identifier, phone optional 2FA Multiple pathways Email OR backup codes OR case worker verification Recovery Printable codes One-time codes that can be written down Bypass Trusted intermediary Case managers verify via org email Essential access No-signup mode Core features work without account Implementation Checklist --- Pattern 2: Offline-First / Intermittent Access Anti-Pattern …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills erichowens/design-justice