Care Well

ArtsPond's Care Well is a care-centered focus to designing accessible tools and technologies that meet the dreams and demands of diverse communities. Expanding our traditional understandings of care, it is based on five interconnected care personalities, including: careseekers, caretakers, caregivers, caremakers, and careshapers.

Careseekers (recipients or beneficiaries of care)

You are a beneficiary of care that is shared with you by others. You see the world as precarious and focus on the present to short-term (~1-year horizon). You seek care to reduce your vulnerability and meet basic needs for security and survival. Perceived as vulnerable and resourceful, you are threatened by harms in the system but lack the capacity to change things for the better. However, your first-hand knowledge of authentic self-care can offer valuable guidance to those leading changes and providing care.

Caretakers (guardians or protectors of care)

You are a guardian of care that is sought by and shared with others. You see the world as precarious and focus on protecting what is needed to survive now and into the foreseeable future (~3 to 5-year horizon). You bring diverse groups together to protect access to care in the face of present harms and future threats. Perceived as champions or companions to careseekers and caregivers alike, you risk your own survival due to gaps in resources and knowledge. However, with adequate support from others, you can help identify and guide the essential changes necessary to achieve a thriving future.

Caregivers (providers or nurturers of care)

You are a nurturer of care that you offer and share with others. You see the world as prosperous and focus on helping more people survive in the present to near-term (~2-year horizon). You prioritize personalized care with individuals and smaller communities. Perceived as overburdened yet selfless, you have limited capacity to address larger systemic issues. However, your patience and empathy ensure you continue to offer and share essential care and inspire others to do the same.

Caremakers (engineers or builders of care)

You are a builder of care that is created and shared by you and others. You see the world as prosperous and focus on creating conditions for a thriving future in the medium to long-term (~5 to 10-year horizon). You prioritize leading and supporting collective actions and individual approaches to care that strengthen the vitality of individuals, communities, and smaller ecosystems. Perceived as ambitious and empowering, you push for significant changes despite resistance. However, your boundless creativity and compassion help enable others to advance real change and accessible care.

Careshapers (visionaries or architects of care)

You are a visionary of care that is shared with, by, and for everyone. You see the world both as it is and as it could be, demystifying its vulnerable complexity and hopeful energy. You prioritize illustrating the causes and consequences of precarity and testing remedies that cultivate and amplify prosperity across larger ecosystems over the long-term (~10 to 25 years or more). Perceived as idealistic and innovative, you challenge norms and stimulate communities to envision a better world. Your broad perspective enables you to guide and motivate others, passing knowledge and inspiration across generations.