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Design Decision Factsheet

  1. Ease of Use

    • Our fundamental design principle focuses on making our products intuitive and user-friendly.

  2. Contrasting Colours

    • Utilising contrasting colours enhances visual accessibility and improves the user experience, especially for those with visual impairments.

  3. Minimise Use of Black

    • Avoiding or minimising the use of black addresses the perceptual effects for individuals with dementia, who may interpret black as a void or hole.

  4. Visibility in a Reduced Visual Field

    • Designing the product to be fully visible in a reduced visual field ensures usability and accessibility for individuals with limited peripheral vision, often seen in dementia.

 

Goals

  1. Foster Conversation and Reminiscence

    • This goal aims to enhance the user experience by encouraging social interaction and memory engagement through meaningful connections.

  2. Promote Familiarity

    • Incorporating familiarity to spark recognition,to make users feel more comfortable and likely to use the product.

  3. Engage Curiosity

    • Designing features that stimulate interest and exploration makes our products more engaging and enjoyable.

  4. Encourage Empowerment

    • We aim to design products that help users feel in control and confident in their interactions.

  5. Ensure Quality

    • Striving for high-quality design ensures our products are reliable, durable, and effective.

  6. Prioritise Sustainability

    • We focus on creating environmentally friendly products, considering the long-term impact of our design choices.

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Our design ethos aims to:

1. Produce products that engage semantic memory. That is: the things that you intuitively know and understand without having to remember when you know it from. A good example is knowing that the sky is blue. Semantic memory involves general world knowledge that we have accumulated throughout our lives, such as facts, concepts, and meanings. This type of memory is not tied to personal experiences or specific events but rather to common knowledge and tends to be more resilient in dementia.


2. Produce products that encourage user participation, allow the user agency and self-determination and encourage independent exploration.


3. Can be accessed and used without training by carers.


Engaging semantic memory, encouraging user participation and agency, and ensuring ease of use for carers are all aligned with best practices in dementia care. This approach not only caters to the cognitive and emotional needs of individuals with dementia but also supports carers in delivering effective and compassionate care.


Benefits


For Users: Enhances engagement, autonomy, and cognitive stimulation.
For Carers: Simplifies their role in facilitating activities, reducing stress and workload.
For Care Settings: Promotes a more dynamic and interactive environment, improving the overall care quality.

 


Sentimental Seaside Puzzle


The subject matter of the image has been selected for its cultural reminiscence and familiarity.
Elements in the design can be used as conversation starters.
The completed image is printed on the base of the tray, allowing users to compare pieces directly without having to rely on short term memory to refer back to a lid.
Image is purposefully designed to include a diverse range of people and activities to be as inclusive as possible.
Use of strong contrasting colours helps with matching.
Most pieces contain a distinct image to help with matching and orientation.    
We minimise the use of black and very dark colours because they can be interpreted as a void or space.
All the pieces are the same shape and size with smooth edges to aid with completion and help with any dexterity issues such as arthritis etc. Compared to traditional jigsaw puzzles, it’s easier to visualise the placement of the piece. Even if an incorrect position is chosen, it will still fit and foster a sense of achievement.

Sturdy wooden construction for durability.

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Premium Adult Colouring Book


Our high-quality colouring book features images of familiar vintage items and scenes, designed to inspire cultural reminiscence and serve as conversation starters.
An established adult pastime this book not only provides enjoyment but also acts as a tool for social and cognitive engagement.
The images range from simple to complex to support a variety of interactions, depending on mood and ability.
The book has been designed with dignity in mind, resembling a glossy coffee table magazine so it won’t look out of place in a living room setting.
There’s no wrong way to pick up the book, as it’s been designed with two appealing ‘front’ covers.
High-quality paper with one design per page minimizes confusing bleed-through.

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The Curiosity Box


Designed to encourage a sense of intrigue from the outside with a high-quality, vintage-style box.
The contents are designed to be intriguing, familiar, or both, with strong, contrasting colours to aid in identification and use.
The objects have been deliberately chosen to allow interaction possibilities with each other — for example, buttons can be threaded onto the string or placed in the purse.
Includes our own design of nature-themed tea cards to help start conversations.
This product has the potential to be user-initiated if left within their field of vision, promoting empowerment.
Can help, anecdotally, to reset and distract difficult behaviours, such as continually 'wanting to go home'.
Designed with dignity in mind, so it does not look out of place in a domestic setting.
The contents can be supplemented with other familiar or interesting items, but avoid precious items as they may go missing.
Anecdotally encourages independent interaction with other residents in a care home setting; they may give away or swap items, encouraging interaction and independence.
 

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