CLARA LAM
What is Airbnb.org?
Airbnb.org operates on a simple, powerful belief: that having a place to stay shouldn’t be a luxury when your world has been turned on its head.
The nonprofit connects people in their most vulnerable moments with hosts willing to open their doors, transforming Airbnb’s vast network into a lifeline. It’s emergency housing reimagined, not sterile shelters or impersonal hotel rooms, but actual homes where refugees, evacuees, and relief workers can find stability amid chaos. Since its inception, Airbnb.org has provided temporary sanctuary to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, proving that sometimes the most meaningful design work isn’t about aesthetics, it’s about creating pathways to safety, dignity, and hope when people need it most.
Clara Lam works as a UI designer for the nonprofit. Her designs are at the forefront of the experience of these refugees and displaced people. She has to take into account the experiences of these traumatized individuals in her everyday design, making her experience a unique one in the UI world. I sat down with Clara over coffee and tea, and talked about her life at Airbnb.org. Read more about it inside.
That’s something I’m learning a lot in this job, people are so resilient in the face of adversity.”
Seeing Beyond the Screen
Q: Do you ever get to meet and talk to the people who use Airbnb.org?
A: I’ve gone on a couple of research trips, and one of them that was really impactful was when I traveled to Berlin with one of our researchers. That was one year after the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, and there were a lot of refugees in Berlin.
And again, it was a year out, so I think we felt like that was an okay timeline to reach out to folks. We primarily met with nonprofit partners and Airbnb hosts because we’re like, okay, that feels very safe and appropriate.
It was really cool because one of the nonprofit partners introduced us to some families that had gone through the system to get temporary housing. And so we didn’t necessarily, like, go out of our way to make that happen, but I was really grateful because these families, one, are so inspiring, just for their resilience, and that’s something I’m learning a lot in this job, people are so resilient in the face of
CLARA LAM is a UI designer who got her degree in Design from The University of Washington. Clara has been working at Airbnb since she graduated from college 10 years ago, and doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon. When asked about what’s keeping her with the company, Clara said, “The managers that I’ve had have been really adamant about growing me and finding me these opportunities, and that has been really
adversity. But getting to talk to them and meet them, I think, is really special. We also just had a team gathering in LA, because we did a lot of work on the LA fires in January 2025. We actually drove through the area, and I thought this was a really great thing for us to do. I think that we were very careful to understand, we’re not here for tourism. We’re not like, ooh, like, I’m interested in the destruction, but I think to see what we’re actually trying to accomplish here.
We saw Altadina, which was a city that was heavily impacted by the fires. A lot of the homes were owned by black families, and there’s a lot of history there, but I think to hear the stories, to see the space really grounds our work.
I think it can be very easy to feel detached from it or like I’m just working on UI, but I think when you are reminded of the real-life impact of it, it helps us do good work.
encouraging.” Clara is constantly striving for growth in herself and her work, something that is clear from just our brief talk. Clara originally started off working as a UI designer on the travel side of Airbnb, before moving over to their non-profit. Clara describes herself as “mostly a designer, sometimes a florist.” In her spare time away from Airbnb, Clara makes floral arrangements for weddings, and for her own personal hobby. We discussed the way her design education has influenced
those arrangements; how she thinks about the visual hierarchy when picking out flowers and fillers, proving that design surrounds us 24/7.
Airbnb.org’s Global Impact
We have to find a way to reduce, reduce, reduce, so we get those core messages.”
When Life Lacks Order, Design Provides It
Q: Is there one class or project from your time in school that has influenced how you design today?
A: When I’m designing for people who are going through a lot, they’re really stressed, I think about trauma-informed design. It really boils down to, like, the extremes of those design principles. Because when you’re going through a lot, like, the information needs to be fast and it needs to be clear. Maybe even more so than someone who is leisurely booking for a stay. We need to surface the most important information in a really succinct and immediate way. And so I think about, like, how do you highlight information? It’s through bolding texts, it’s through making things bigger, formatting them in bullets or well-spaced paragraphs.
Like all those things really come into play and the need is exacerbated for a population that is experiencing trauma.
And so I think that is something, like when I think about emails, or I think about the UI, those principles of good design, they’re at the forefront of my brain
as I’m working on it and like breaking things down into chunks.
I think when I was designing for a more general population, I’d be like, ‘Well, this is a lot of information, and I’ll do it the best I can, but I think it’s okay.’ I think now I really apply that critical lens of, no, we’ve got to put this down, we have to find a way to reduce, reduce, reduce, so we get those core messages.
Souzan and Maram — Syrian Civil War Refugees
Clara’s UI Work
The Benn Family A Real Story from Airbnb.org
The Benns are a fixture of Altadena, California, where they’re known as the music family. Laurie and Oscar’s seven children grew up singing at local school, church, and community events and continue to perform together to this day.
The Benns have lived in Altadena since the 1950s and were one of the first Black families to purchase homes in the area. The children grew up down the street from their grandmother and aunts and uncles. They picked fruit from their backyard.
“We were incredibly lucky to have grown up in a community like that, with families that are just like ours who were able to find value in homeownership, and that generations were a part of it,” said Loren Benn, the eldest of Laurie and Oscar’s children.
When the Eaton fire swept through Altadena, it took Loren’s parent’s home, her grandmother’s home, and her brother’s home. “Losing a home is one thing. Feeling like you’ve lost a bit of legacy is another,” Loren said.
When the Benns evacuated, they thought they’d return in a few days. Oscar was on oxygen and they were being extra cautious to avoid the smoke. It soon became clear they weren’t going home, and Loren applied for emergency housing through Airbnb.org and 211 LA. Eleven Benns, including Oscar and Laurie’s three grandchildren, stayed for free in an Airbnb for a little over a month while they figured out what to do next.
Staying together was crucial for the Benns, who are used to sharing space and supporting each other in their daily lives. “When we got here, it gave us a sense of normalcy,” said Laurie. One night they made spaghetti. It was the first time they’d had a homecooked meal since losing their homes. The youngest grandson took some of his first steps in the home.
During their Airbnb.org stay, the Benns found longterm housing for the next year. They plan to return to Altadena and rebuild not just their homes, but the way of life they’ve always known.
Ali Post is a Visual Communication Design student at The University of Washington. She loves going to concerts, making posters, and knitting sweaters. Ali will be graduating with her Bachelors of Design in Spring 2027.