Who I am
I’m Emese Stork, a multidisciplinary designer and researcher exploring how design can support public life, democratic participation, and civic imagination.
With a background in design innovation and civic activism, I work across disciplines — often in third sector or experimental settings — to make sense of complexity and translate ideas into accessible tools, spaces, and experiences.
My practice is grounded in curiosity, systems thinking, and a belief in design as a form of inquiry, especially in the space between macro-level structures and individual lived experience and actions.
emesestork.com
Why This Project Exists
When I was studying Design Innovation and Citizenship MDes, I asked my tutors what we should call ourselves.
In service design, you’re a service designer — so what are we?
There was no answer. And maybe that’s the point.
The kind of design I’m drawn to doesn’t fit neatly into existing categories. It crosses civic tech, public innovation, social research, and community organising.
To explore the boundaries of this design field, I did what I know best: I designed a research tool. This website is that tool: an open, interactive way to surface patterns, gather perspectives, get to know like-minded people, and map this still-emerging public-minded citizen-focused design discipline where people are seen as citizens rather than users or customers.
What I Hope to Do
This project began from a personal need to bring clarity to a kind of design practice I felt part of, but couldn’t quite name.
This could become the foundation for a research project, a future PhD, a shared platform, or even a design practice built around civic and democratic values. I’m not here to define a new discipline on my own, but to open space for others who may feel the same pull.
Right now, this site is a first step — a way to explore whether this kind of design work needs more visibility, shared language, or connection.
If any of this resonates with you — whether you're working in similar spaces or just curious — I’d love to talk.
📩 emesecstork@gmail.com
Let’s have a virtual coffee sometime.