People Start to Feel How They Are Treated:

Denisse Michelle Cotto Reyes

Designing Trauma-Informed Communication Systems

Thesis Overview — Hold

Hold is a trauma-informed design thesis that explores how institutional communication can unintentionally harm people experiencing trauma, crisis, stress, or emotional overwhelm. The project examines how systems such as healthcare, education, welfare, law enforcement, and social services often expect individuals to communicate clearly and regulate themselves during moments of fear, confusion, or vulnerability.

Through research, storytelling, interaction design, and speculative experiences, Hold reimagines what supportive communication could look like within these environments. The project focuses on accessibility, emotional safety, empathy, and human-centered design, asking how systems might better support survivors, parents, children, and people with disabilities during difficult interactions.

Blending design research with creative practice, Hold proposes tools and experiences that encourage institutions to move beyond efficiency-driven communication toward approaches grounded in care, dignity, and understanding.

Denisse Michelle Cotto Reyes

MFA design & technology

**Denisse Cotto Reyes** is a multidisciplinary creative whose work spans acting, poetry, dance, design, and technology. Her practice explores storytelling as a tool for emotional expression, human connection, and social reflection across both artistic and digital mediums.

As an actress, poet, and dancer, Denisse uses performance and movement to communicate experiences that are often difficult to express through words alone. Her work is rooted in authenticity, empathy, and emotional depth, drawing from personal narrative and socially conscious themes. She views dance as a powerful form of expression and connection, allowing emotion, memory, and identity to take physical form.

In addition to her artistic practice, Denisse is passionate about design, research, and coding. She enjoys building interactive and human-centered experiences that merge creativity with technology, using digital tools to explore new forms of storytelling and communication. Her interdisciplinary approach reflects a commitment to creating work that is thoughtful, expressive, and impactful.

View Profile