SLAP! TACK! BANG!

Yesterday I hosted a fab event alongside Shauna McGregor. It was an interactive exhibi- tion come photo shoot. We borrowed clothes from local designers Hayley Scanlan and Kerrie ALDO, got Holly Scanlan on board to do hair, contacted a few of our model friends and asked Kathryn Rattray to take some photos. We had gold foil backgrounds, stacks of chairs, glitter, tinsel and a plastic flamingo to play with as well. One wall even had a mock washing line with huge white briefs that had ‘feminist’ screen printed in pearlescent pink on the back pegged to it.

We wanted to get people talking about what was going on at the time; we encouraged people to discuss the Ferguson shooting, recent bans on UK pornography and feminism. Using the stacks of old magazine we had left out, we wanted people to draw their thoughts out, stick up phrases, and make collages to illustrate what they had been talking about. We got some really good conversations going, as well as some interesting things happening on the wall.

The reason for the event was primarily research for our dissertations. I wanted find out how to get people engaged in conversation, I was trying to think of different ways to start conversations as well as thinking of new ways to record what people’s thoughts were. That is where the collaging idea came from, it kind of killed both birds with one stone, and also it was super fun. The other part the event played was producing images that we could include in our reports, we are both doing different modules, Shauna’s is about communication and media and mine is a business report. Both of them being about magazines, we felt it was important to make them look the part. My proposed magazine works on a multi platform blueprint, producing content through online channels, such as a website and social media. It would also put on events similar to this one, in order to engage readers in different ways.

I think the event, on the whole, was a success. We got a lot of positive feedback as well as all the interaction on the night. The two different things going on went quite well, but I feel they could have worked better as individual events; it was hard for us to facilitate both things at once. That is definitely something I will take forward into future event planning.

Drastic changes

When I started back at DJCAD for my fourth year at the beginning month I was finding it incredibly difficult to motivate myself to do anything at all for my dissertation. I have completely lost interest in my subject so I have to change it! I have decided instead to write a business plan for a magazine. It will be a fashion and lifestyle magazine that blends a bit of politics, current affairs and ethics into the mix.Watch this space.

Playlist for life

While in the IRISS office yesterday, which I posted about earlier, I also had the chance to hear about a really inspiring project called ‘Playlist for life’ which is a music therapy tool for people with dementia. The idea is to create a tailored playlist with songs that bring up memories helping families to reconnect. They have a really touching video on their site which shows one couples story;

IRISS

I popped into the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) yesterday morning to have a chat with a few of the staff about the work they had been doing on dementia. I had thought, incorrectly, that IRISS was centered around research in the mental health field, which, apparently is a common mistake. What they actually do is gather information and evidence that is pre-existing and use it to develop tools and techniques to improve the care system. Their work carries through to promoting the use of these outcomes in care communities.

The main focus of our discussion was the ‘Creative Quarter‘ project, which is all about encouraging practitioners to think differently about their approach to care, using creativity to promote better outcomes. The project has three strands; one strand is trying to understand the use of the arts in social services, another is trying to support people to develop new ideas and new enterprises, locally in communities, and the third is trying to improve creative practice; helping practitioners to work together and also use a variety of different methods in their practice to try and improve quality of life. They ran a number of workshops and event to try and expose people to the different methodologies.

IRISS works with all areas of mental health and social care and their work with creativity carried throughout. I think it’s really interesting that creativity can have such a positive effect on people’s wellbeing, particularly since many people think that they lack creativity.

Another thing which we talked about was the importance of changing a person with dementia’s routine. In particular  one story about a couple stood out to me. After receiving his diagnoses, a man and his wife found that all the fun had gone out of their life, they had planned a visit to the Dementia center in Stirling (DSDC) to find out exactly what to expect. They found that they really enjoyed going out on that day trip, visiting somewhere new and had had a lot of fun. This is something that has come up again and again, changing routines and breaking the cycle of monotony to really stimulate the brain and improve quality of life.

There is loads of information on both the IRISS and Creative Quarter websites so I will be revisiting both in future posts.

Foreign bear studio

Interview number three on the dissertation research mission was with Phil and Genevieve McMahon. The brains behind Foreign bear studio, an up and coming spatial design company based in London’s Hackney. This interview was about finding out more about creative start-ups and what it takes to get one going. Here’s what we talked about:

How did you decide to start Foreign bear studio?

It was after moving into our first flat, that was our first opportunity for design. It gave us the freedom to do exactly what we wanted.  That sparked something that we wanted to do. We had gotten good feedback as well. It was a very organic decision that developed on its own. It took a while

What did it take to get it off the ground?

A lot of boring formal work, we worked with company’s house to get things going.  There was a lot to be done with accounts and other behind the scenes stuff. You have to learn as you go. Phil did a business course so he learned bits and bobs doing that but you just have to jump in at the deep end.

The team we worked with was a big thing, understanding what they expected from us and what we needed from them. We spent a lot of time figuring out who we could work with to get the finish we wanted. Our expectations of the finished product are a bit higher than what would normally be asked of. We had to figure things out like the schedule of work, when to order certain materials to be installed so that the workmen weren’t waiting about with nothing to do. Things have to be put in in a particular order and it really important to get it all done on time so people are always busy. We learned we had to make decisions quickly as well.

There are new problems which arise with every project, you can think that you’re on track and then something comes along which you weren’t expecting so you are constantly having to adapt.

What are the benefits of living in London?

Great access to what is contemporary in design. There are constant trade shows, showrooms,  antique shops, and exhibitions which are all easily accessible. The city is immersed in design, it’s the whole international scene, but right on your doorstep.  There is a lot you feed into and take influence from. You can take part in things too, exhibiting and so on. London has a unique energy.

What are the disadvantages? (I got two simultaneous answers for this one: ‘competition’ ’expensive’)

There are so many people coming to London to make it. It’s hard to get noticed and to keep your head above water. It’s not enough to just get noticed once you have to keep coming back with more work, getting more people to take note of what you are doing. We did talk about moving but we would have to give it up.

The expense is an issue too, everything in London costs more, but then you are able to charge more as well.

Do you have an accountant, solicitor, or PR manager whom you work with?

We work with an architect and a solicitor; we use them for each project. The council plays a big part, getting planning permission, and there are conservation areas to contend with too.  Any structural work done in a building has to be inspected by a building control officer to make sure it’s all up to code.

What kind of relationship do you have with the people you work with?

It’s important to keep it professional and to have boundaries. Having good relationships is really important for a business. It took us a while to get together a trustworthy team who we knew would give us the results we wanted.

We found that it was important to make daily site visits to make sure everything was going in, as we wanted.  If you are around a lot you can catch mistakes almost before they happen. You might find a joist that’s a centimeter off and it’s vital you move it early on to avoid having to rip things out later.

How do you gauge pricing?

It’s very difficult to do pricing, and it differs depending on the job. We have friend who work in the industry so we can draw up proposals and they check the pricing for us, and then we do the same for them. If we were doing a consulting job it would be priced by the hour, whereas if you were to be doing a lot of drawing you would do it per sketch. A budget for a house is different again; we actually have a detailed spreadsheet made up. It took us a while to collate enough data from our projects. Once the information had built up you could use it to make a rough estimate of what a kitchen or a bathroom would cost and use that as a starting point. You are always going to be a bit off with budget that comes with the territory.

It is different again if we are working for a client, we then have to factor in our time. That is probably something we should be doing for every project but it hasn’t happened yet.

What about dry spells?

You are trying all the time to get the next bit of work. We just finished up a project on Friday we are now trying to get a plot in London. We have put a packet of drawing and proposals together for the council. You are always thinking about what’s next, even when you are working on something. There will sometimes be a lapse in between but you can use that to catch up on other things. Coming up to the end of a project you don’t have time to think. You are constantly on the go and getting things done so other things start to mount up. There are letters to send and bills to pay, other boring stuff like that that you fall behind on.

Do you have a specific schedule that you work to?

Phil does the paperwork but that can be difficult when you are on site all the time. There are outgoings and in-comings as well as various applications for the council; you have to insure you have these things. It can sometimes be a struggle to keep on top of it. Things can happen, problems arise, which pull you out of the office. It would make sense to take care of the paper work on say a Wednesday but it doesn’t always work out.

Do you make mood boards?

Yes, it’s good to have everything to do with a project in one place. It sinks into your subconscious. We had a picture with a staircase in it up on the wall ages ago and it resurfaced recently and I realised how similar it looked to a recent project we did. The staircase had been inspired by this forgotten image. As a designer it’s really important to be surrounded with visuals.

 

Do you have a set group of people you always work with?

We mentioned the build team earlier but aside from that we tend to always use the same suppliers for each project. Every job brings something new though, for this one we designed a bespoke marble sink so we needed a new supplier for that. We don’t usually ever meet our suppliers in person but get to know them quite well from long conversations on the phone and via email. We are quite independent of everyone and just touch in and out of people’s worlds. Our suppliers live all across England. The sense of completion at the end of a project doesn’t spread out to everyone.

 

I think the main points to take away from this interview were the importance of selecting the right people to work with, who you know will produce the quality of work that you want, getting everything done in the right order, and getting supplies ordered on time, also the importance of adaptability, being able to evolve and change how you work to cater for new and unexpected problems which may occur. Another thing, which I think is vital, is surrounding yourself with inspiration, be it mood boards or local museums, most of what an artist or designer produces is heavily influenced by the world around them.

It was really interesting to see the inside of the foreign bear studio, after having seen photos of it. The studio and their work have been featured in quite a few magazines and are really making a name for themselves.

 

DeMEntia Diary

I met up with Sara Nevay and Rebecca Lindsay today to have a chat about the work they did on ‘DeMEntia diary’, an electronic tool which will be further explained in this post. This was the second meeting I’ve had so far to find out more about designing for dementia, to further my dissertation research. Here is what we talked about:

 

What exactly is the dementia diary?

The SSSC, Alzheimer’s Scotland, IRISS, and 100% open ran a two day innovation event called ‘Workforce of the future’ which was all about staff giving ideas about new strategies which they thought would improve the care system. The ideas were all submitted to an online portal and then staff were able to vote on which ideas they thought were strongest. Twenty of the suggestions online were then taken to the event and the person who had submitted an idea presented it to the group. Based on these presentations another vote was cast to take the best ideas forward. One idea was for a visual diary that utilise technology to tell stories about people with dementias lives. It was partially a reminiscence tool but also a useful way to communicate things about that person to care workers. The diary would be able to give a new group of carers a snapshot of the person’s life, how they like things to be done for example how they like their tea.

The Scottish Borders Council and Alzheimer’s Scotland were interested in taking the idea further and both had different ideas about how they would use the tool. Who could benefit? How would it be implemented?

In London Sara Nevay ran an empathy exercise – staff were asked to make up personas based on people they care for and storyboard tasks their personas may have to perform. One of the staff members had a medical background and their storyboard was about visiting the doctor and showing them the diary so they could assess how the patients condition was progressing. The idea here was that family members who are constantly with the patient may not be objective about changes in the patients life or the progression of the illness. The diary could show the patient performing a certain task multiple time over the course of a month and it would show any deterioration in dexterity or comprehension. There was some question about whether people would be able to use the technology s there was a suggestion to also have a paper version available. Much like the ‘This is me’ booklet produced by Alzheimer’s UK.

The service would be beneficial both to the person with the illness and to their family. The diary would preserve part of the person’s personality. With more developed dementia the person you knew before is not there anymore and it’s important to have things to remember them by.

How did you both get involved with the project?

The people running the event contacted Hazel White who runs the master of design for services at DJCAD, which we were both doing at the time. They wanted ten designers to come along and participate as visualisers. We were to help pull ideas together and produce visuals but ended up facilitating the groups.

Four months later five of the ideas chosen in the innovation event had received extra funding to take them further. 100% open bowed out and we became the design team. They wanted us to pack together all of the information gathered and tie it together.

In the Borders Becca Lindsay gave homework for everyone to do. She asked them to make a video in the context of what the service would be. One person took it a bit further and actually filmed a lady with dementia who she cared for. The lady was adamant that she wanted her wardrobe to be filmed as she was very into fashion and her carers never quite got her outfit’s right. She wanted the video to show which combinations she liked to wear her clothes in, which cardigan went with which blouse and so on. This was a new conversation for the woman, which stimulated conversation. Being in this new situation made her brain work differently, helping to combat the symptoms of her illness. Breaking the loop of the same questions day in day out can be really helpful for people with dementia. It can be monotonous and it’s hard to break the cycle.

There were some complexities working in the borders such as the poor Internet signal and the out-dated technology that people use there. People were not at ease with utilising technology, one woman was adamant that she wouldn’t do it. However the next day she came back in having experimented and had several videos to show.  Overcoming the terror of new technology is rewarding and makes people want to engage once they have gotten the hang of it.

Becca’s grandmother had dementia and went through a cycle for three months telling the same story over and over. Then one day a police officer came to the door to explain about an issue with the neighbours and that there might be some noise. Becca insisted he came in to tell her gran and when he did her manner changed completely, saying how charming he was. His visit broke the loop and improved the mood. Breaking the loop benefits the family as well as the person with the illness

What part did research play in this project?

It was very much a live project. It wasn’t necessary for us to do research, everyone we were working with was already an expert in this field so we were just bringing the design to it. People who really knew what they were doing had agreed upon the base of the idea. Someone who really thought it would be useful had suggested it.

What is reminiscence therapy and how did it play a part?

Reminiscence therapy can use a physical object, photos, music or even smells to bring back memories and ignite conversation. It’s all about nostalgia. An object can be linked to a happy memory. Short-term memory goes but often memories from ten or more years ago are really fresh. Recalling these memories can change a person’s frame of mind. With reminiscence therapy the memories don’t always last but the sense of wellbeing and happiness can stay. Certain memories are much stronger than others.

It can be difficult for people who caught their dementia later on as they will forget that they have been diagnosed which can cause distress. The vast changes that have been made to the city can also cause distress. A person with dementia will remember how things look years ago and so the city is not familiar to them. None of the shops or buildings are what they remember.

Did you speak to anyone who had the illness?

Sara – In the second session Alzheimer’s Scotland brought in people who had been working with different studies pertaining to dementia strategies. There was one man who had been diagnosed late on. He had been wandering off in the middle of the night and waiting for the newspaper in the morning. It wasn’t until his wife woke up one night to find he wasn’t there. When he wasn’t in a period of memory loss he knew what his diagnosis was. He had been very independent prior to the illness, running his own business. He had been involved with Cobalt run by St Andrews University. The programme helps people with dementia to relearn forgotten skills. He had been learning to type and do other admin type jobs that he had done when he was working. Relearning these skills improved his memory and he is now able to give lectures for 40 odd minutes. Relearning a physical activity is a huge help to the brain.

The main things which I picked up on during my chat with Sara and Rebecca were; the importance of reminiscence, both for the person with dementia and for their families. Short term memory is often the most affected so thinking back to a time in the past can be easier, recalling old memories can improve someone’s mood. It is also important for families to  have a way of remembering their relative as a person which can become difficult when the illness is more progressed and has an affect on behaviours. Simultaneously it is really crucial to know a person’s habits and preferences when caring for them, as in the case of the lady with the fabulous wardrobe. Making small alterations in the way you care for someone and help them with day to day tasks can improve their well being and happiness. I think it’s also really interesting to hear the impact re-learning lost skills can have on the memory. I think that is a vital thing to take forward in my research.

 

Thankyou very much to both Sara Nevay and Rebecca Lindsay for meeting up with me to have a chat.

Circa Connect ltd

To start off my research for my dissertation I have arranged to meet up with a few people who have worked in the field of designing for dementia. My first meeting was with Gary Gowans, a graphic design tutor at DJCAD. He worked on producing a computer programme ‘CIRCA connect‘ which used reminiscence therapy to help those with dementia. Here is what we talked about:

How did you decide to embark on the project?

We started out with a fact-finding mission within the different faculties. Liaising with the school of computing and the school of psychology. Each department faculty members demonstrated their various skills and interests, highlighting any connections and possible collaboration opportunities.

I had an interest in work Norman Alm from the school of computing had done previously with assisted technology for communication. That’s where the idea started, a kind of electronic scrapbook incorporating reminiscence therapy. The psychologists contributed their expertise in dementia communication.

How did you do research for the project?

We did studies and field-testing within care environments. A main part of the research was weather to use personalised or generic content within the product. The content is made up of music, videos, and photographs. We were weighing up the success of each type based on the reactions we were seeing in the people using the product. With the personalised content there was concern that people may not be able to recognise faces of family or friends, which could cause stress and anxiety. People may feel ashamed or like they are being quizzed. What we wanted to do instead was show them something that jogged memories, something like a cobbled street that would remind them of a related time in their life. The idea of the product is to ignite conversation.

Using generic content also means that there is no need to be constantly updating the system for new users.

How did you get in touch with the care and service providers?/Were you able to talk to those who had the illness too?

There were ready-made channels to go through because of the psychologist, who had long standing contact with caregivers. We also went through social services, which gave us access to care institutions locally. We used private institutions mostly, in fife, Dundee and Oxford too.  We spoke to Alzheimer’s Scotland and the UK branch too as an advisory group.

It wasn’t really necessary to speak to those with the illness; it was more about observing how they interacted with the programme. We were monitoring the relationships and interaction. We used human interaction software as well, that takes note of things like eye contact, laughter and so on. We had people telling stories that their families had never heard before, which is a fantastic result.

We produced a game too, called Lim. That was designed for people with mid range dementia. We observed how they were performing and the more they used it the more they improved. We found that people were kept engaged for long periods of time.

How did you overcome the issue of people not being adept with technology?

The programme runs on touch screens and the interface is designed to be as intuitive as possible. The initial assumption was that the carers would run the system but actually it turned out that people were able to use it themselves. You could never get lost in the system, there are always more easy to navigate options on screen. The programme created intrigue and made the user want to explore further. There were people who had never used a computer before who were able to do it themselves easily, which also incorporated a sense of achievement.

I think the most important things from this interview were; the use of generic content to avoid any distress caused by being unable to recognise faces or places, and also to cut out the need for constant updates to the system. Also Peoples ability to learn to use the system really quickly and the good feelings this achievement created. I think that a person mood and well being can have a massive affect on their overall health and state of mind.

 

A big thanks to Gary Gowans for taking the time to chat with me.