Mihaela Chiselita

Stories of resilience

Stories of resilience

Stories of resilience

A Personal Exploration of Transgenerational Trauma through Web-Based Storytelling

A Personal Exploration of Transgenerational Trauma through Web-Based Storytelling

A Personal Exploration of Transgenerational Trauma through Web-Based Storytelling

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A mockup of logo
A mockup of logo

Stories of Resilience is a digital memorial that shares my grandmother’s experience of deportation to a Soviet labor camp. Through minimalist storytelling, a drawing tool inspired by art therapy, and curated trauma resources, the project explores how design can hold space for inherited grief—without aestheticizing it.

Client:

AUAS

My Role:

Storytelling Designer

Year:

2024

Service Provided:

Web Design

The Challenge

My grandmother was deported to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia during her childhood. Her story—marked by loss, hunger, and resilience—was shared with me in fragments, shaped by time and silence. I wanted to honor her life through design, but without aestheticizing trauma or turning it into spectacle.

The challenge was to create a space that could carry personal memory with care, while also giving others the opportunity to reflect on their own family histories.


My Approach

Stories of Resilience is a digital narrative archive centered on my grandmother’s deportation and survival. It also functions as a space for collective reflection on intergenerational trauma. Rather than designing an emotionally charged experience, I chose to work with restraint: text, archival visuals, and gentle interaction.

The platform is quiet by design—grounded in factual storytelling, minimal visuals, and emotional pacing. It includes her story, a drawing-based reflection tool inspired by art therapy, and a curated set of resources on inherited trauma.

The Process

I began the project by interviewing my grandmother directly, gathering both narrative and emotional cues. I supplemented her account with historical deportation records and mapping tools like Polonica and German memory-mapping platforms. Literature on post-Soviet trauma helped contextualize the personal within broader political histories.

Visual experimentation played a key role early on. I worked with drawing, scanning, and riso printing to explore the emotional tone of the project. My initial designs were more layered and expressive, but after mentor feedback, I pared things back—focusing on narrative clarity and contemplative pacing. I also consulted a Romanian art therapist, whose insights helped shape the drawing tool as a reflective, optional space for users.

The Process

I began the project by interviewing my grandmother directly, gathering both narrative and emotional cues. I supplemented her account with historical deportation records and mapping tools like Polonica and German memory-mapping platforms. Literature on post-Soviet trauma helped contextualize the personal within broader political histories.

Visual experimentation played a key role early on. I worked with drawing, scanning, and riso printing to explore the emotional tone of the project. My initial designs were more layered and expressive, but after mentor feedback, I pared things back—focusing on narrative clarity and contemplative pacing. I also consulted a Romanian art therapist, whose insights helped shape the drawing tool as a reflective, optional space for users.

Key Features

The site presents my grandmother’s story through scanned letters, drawings, and narrative text—modeled after archival documents. The visual identity is minimal, using quiet typography and open spacing to invite slow reading.

An integrated drawing tool lets users reflect or honor someone in their own lives. It is anonymous, optional, and framed as an emotional gesture, not content creation. A small resource section offers links and reading for those interested in the psychology and politics of memory.

No sound, motion, or data collection is used. Everything is built to preserve dignity, privacy, and stillness.


My Role

I led every part of the process—from interviews and narrative development to research, visual design, interaction flow, and ethical framing. I also developed the resource library and prototyped the drawing tool with therapeutic intent in mind.

Key Features

The site presents my grandmother’s story through scanned letters, drawings, and narrative text—modeled after archival documents. The visual identity is minimal, using quiet typography and open spacing to invite slow reading.

An integrated drawing tool lets users reflect or honor someone in their own lives. It is anonymous, optional, and framed as an emotional gesture, not content creation. A small resource section offers links and reading for those interested in the psychology and politics of memory.

No sound, motion, or data collection is used. Everything is built to preserve dignity, privacy, and stillness.


My Role

I led every part of the process—from interviews and narrative development to research, visual design, interaction flow, and ethical framing. I also developed the resource library and prototyped the drawing tool with therapeutic intent in mind.

A screenshot from a website header
A screenshot from a website header
A screenshot from a website header

Outcome

The result is a quiet, hosted digital archive that tells one family’s story with care. More than a portfolio piece, this project became a form of personal processing and public invitation. It opened space for others—peers, mentors, visitors—to share or reflect on their own stories, not through performance, but through presence.


My Insights

This project helped me understand how design can hold grief and history without needing to perform them. I learned that emotional impact doesn’t require high interactivity or visual excess—it can come through pacing, voice, and restraint. Working on this taught me how to translate deeply personal material into something generous, open, and quietly public.

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