5 things I learned designing a product to stop suicide

How do we encourage people to reach out for help online?

The leading cause of death for children is suicide. (ages 10–14)

The leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults is suicide. (ages 15–24)

The leading cause of death for grownups is suicide. (ages 25–34)*

(*not including unintentional injury)

Suicide is an epidemic. The modern plague is blackening the minds and the souls of people. People worry about getting cancer or heart attack, but there’s a bigger chance of dying by suicide if you are under 34.

About a year ago, I explored ways I can help as an experience designer and published, “Designing for suicidal users: preventing suicide the modern way” — a proposal for a new search experience for people who type in suicidal queries.

Since then, I’ve had tremendous support from the community and opportunity to brainstorm with designers, doctors, psychologists, and survivors of suicide attempts.

I’m sharing 5 things I learned that I think are very important to consider when designing for…