Although we may not always know, designers encounter individuals with a presence or history of trauma. Trauma-informed design acknowledges the prevalence of adversity in peoples’ lives and works to understand how trauma shapes one’s fundamental beliefs about the world and the way they live their life. This approach is especially relevant for public and service design and delivery as, all too often, individuals have been traumatized by the very services we are working to improve. By rethinking current methods and integrating principles from helping fields like social work, trauma-informed design centers the safety and empowerment of the people we collaborate with in the design process. This session will introduce trauma-informed methods for design, including real-life examples from Social Workers Who Design, U.S. Digital Service, and Code for America.