Trauma-Informed Graphic Design Institute, LLC

Trauma-informed graphic design for healthcare.

The Trauma-Informed Graphic Design Institute, LLC advances Trauma-Informed Graphic Design as a field of research and practice. We help clinics, hospitals, and mission-driven organizations close the gap between their built environments and the patient-facing materials inside them. Founded by Steve Brackenrich Jr. on graduate research at Kent State University that defined the field and named the design investment disparity it addresses.

I am proud to announce that today, July 1, 2026, I filed as an LLC in the State of Ohio, establishing the Trauma‑Informed Graphic Design Institute, LLC. My goal is to elevate the work of graphic design practitioners and interdisciplinary collaborators who are bridging the gap between trauma‑informed care and our discipline, and to help build an infrastructure of support to sustain that work. I invite you to join me in this effort.

Warm regards,
Steve

Investigating the Underutilization of Graphic Design in Patient-Facing Visual Communication in Urgent Care Environments

Brackenrich, S. R., MFA — Kent State University, 2026

Stress measurably reduces the ability to understand health information; point-of-care visual communications are often missing, complicated, or underdesigned.

View thesis on OhioLINK →

For consulting inquiries, research partnerships, and speaking engagements:

info@tigdinstitute.org