Trueself

The TrueSelf project followed a human-centred, trauma-informed design methodology guided by principles of social innovation. The process began with desktop research on LGBTQIA+ youth mental health, trauma theory, and family psychology. This was followed by qualitative interviews with psychologists, community support workers, and individuals who had experienced challenging coming-out journeys.

Insights gathered were synthesised into a journey map of emotional risks and touchpoints. From there, four key communication personality profiles (ST, SF, NT, NF) based on MBTI traits were identified to help personalise the experience. Co-design sessions with students, counsellors, and parents helped develop prototypes of conversation prompts, emotional support tools, and pacing mechanics.

The result is a physical and digital toolkit containing: 1) Scenario prompts and roleplaying cards tailored by personality 2) Joint reflection activities 3) Support cards for affirmation 4) Truth cards to gently support readiness to share 5) Help and Care tokens to manage emotional intensity Each element was tested in small peer feedback sessions for tone, clarity, and emotional impact. Final iterations were refined with input from trauma-aware professionals to ensure psychological safety.

TrueSelf embodies excellence by integrating trauma-informed principles into a practical, emotionally safe toolkit that meets users where they are. It prioritises accessibility, empathy, and cultural relevance while maintaining high aesthetic and functional standards. All materials were designed with soft edges, inclusive language, calming colour palettes, and intuitive iconography based on user feedback. The toolkit meets core design principles:

• Functionality: Customised prompts by personality type make communication easier and reduce conflict triggers.
• Accessibility: Low-literacy-friendly design, plain English, and tactile elements ensure ease of use for teens and parents.
• Aesthetics: Soothing visual identity promotes emotional safety and connection.
• Safety: Help and Care tokens help users navigate difficult emotions with autonomy and care.

User experience was central to every design decision. Each card was written, tested, and revised with user voices in mind. The pacing of gameplay allows for reflection, emotion regulation, and breaks. The personality-based design increases resonance and relevance.

TrueSelf sets a new benchmark by combining systems thinking, service design, and emotional wellbeing into a practical, replicable tool. It speaks to the global need for more emotionally attuned and inclusive design practices that support LGBTQIA+ youth beyond binary identity labels. In Victoria, it elevates the role of design in mental health and family support, and could easily be adapted across Australia and internationally.

TrueSelf is an innovative, first-of-its-kind toolkit that shifts the coming-out conversation from a one-time event to a process of relational healing and communication. Unlike traditional LGBTQIA+ resources that focus solely on identity or education, TrueSelf personalises interaction by matching families with roleplaying and support tools tailored to their communication personalities.

The toolkits most innovative features include:

• Help and Care Tokens: Mechanisms for users to signal emotional overwhelm or acknowledge vulnerability in real time. This gamified support system enhances psychological safety and emotional pacing.
• Truth Cards: Designed to invite honesty, not force disclosure. They mark readiness rather than obligation.
• Co-regulation Prompts: Each card allows both parent and teen to reflect, creating mutual empathy and shared understanding.
• Personality-Based Design: Tailoring the conversation style ensures higher emotional resonance, reducing miscommunication and emotional shutdown.

TrueSelf responds to a real social challenge—how to help families communicate when one member fears rejection or misunderstanding. It doesnt attempt to “solve” coming out. Instead, it opens a supportive pathway regardless of where a person is in their journey. The entire design process was deeply iterative and user-informed, using trauma-aware feedback loops, expert review, and emotional impact assessments.

What emerged was a hybrid format (digital + physical) that can be self-directed or facilitated in group settings. No current product exists in Australia—or globally—that centres emotional readiness, family dynamics, trauma-informed design, and personalised interaction in this way. TrueSelf offers a new lens on LGBTQIA+ inclusion: one rooted in dignity, timing, and relational growth. It reflects design’s power not just to inform, but to gently transform human experience.

TrueSelf has the potential to create long-lasting social and emotional change at multiple levels—individual, family, and community. At its core, it promotes emotional literacy, family cohesion, and mental wellbeing among one of the most vulnerable populations: rural and culturally diverse LGBTQIA+ teens.

Pilot feedback showed that: Teens felt safer, more seen, and more empowered after using the toolkit. Parents reported greater empathy, reduced anxiety, and increased confidence in how to support their child. By avoiding a prescriptive or identity-forcing framework, TrueSelf is applicable across diverse cultural and emotional contexts. It meets families in the middle and allows them to grow together.

From a systems level, TrueSelf supports diversity education, trauma-informed counselling, and school wellbeing programs. It’s already being considered for implementation in secondary school diversity curriculum and council-led youth wellbeing programs.

Environmental sustainability was also considered—physical elements are designed for minimal waste, and a digital version increases reach without material impact. TrueSelf contributes to Victoria’s reputation as a leader in socially responsible and inclusive design. It aligns with mental health strategies, education reform, and inclusive youth policy frameworks. Its potential for national expansion—through partnerships with community organisations, schools, and health services—is strong.

This project champions the value of investing in professional design. It demonstrates how design can shift complex emotional experiences into structured, safe, and hopeful interactions. Internationally, it could serve as a model for inclusive toolkit design in other marginalised or emotionally sensitive contexts. TrueSelf proves that design isn’t just about usability or appearance—it’s about shaping how we connect, understand, and heal. Its impact lies not only in what it helps people say, but in how it helps them feel seen and held as they do.