New products designed for people with dementia and those who care for them

To mark Dementia Awareness Day, I thought I would share with you some interesting new products which have been designed for people with dementia and those who care for them – one we stock, one we don’t (should we?) and one which is still in the design stages.

1. Many Happy Returns 1940s

The Hairy Bikers’ Meals on Wheels

I have just been catching up on BBC iPlayer with the new series, “Hairy Bikers’ Meals on Wheels” where the TV chefs aim to do for Meals on Wheels what Jamie Oliver has done (or at least tried very hard to do) for school dinners.

Meals on Wheels, as run by the very admirable WRVS and others, is one of those invisible glues in British society which are greatly undervalued until they are under threat.  Not only do Meals on Wheels provide hot food to older people every day, they also provide regular contact and conversation to people who are often isolated and housebound. In the words of one of the customers, they are  “something to look forward to”.

And perhaps most importantly, Meals on Wheels allow people to stay independent and in their own homes for longer. Something most of us want.

Meals and Wheels are under threat not only from the cost cutting affecting most Council services but also from a shortage of, particularly younger, volunteers. As with school dinners, there are also issues around quality and the overuse of frozen rather than fresh ingredients.

As more of us live longer, more and more of us will depend on these sorts of services. Now is a good time to make sure the model works. And that means more of us volunteering now to guarantee that  the service is there when we or our family need it in the future.

But Meals on Wheels in its current incarnation at best looks rather outdated and subsequent programmes will explore how volunteering can be made more attractive. A rebrand by Saatchi and Saatchi seems to be on the cards.

A couple of our University of Brighton students  focused on re-vamping Meals on Wheels as part of our “Designing for the Future” competition last year.  Miranda Holms and Hanna Crick devised  a whole business where meals would be delivered in vintage-look branded vans and food decanted into the most beautiful handmade bowls inset in a bespoke wooden tray before being delivered to the customers. The challenges they had were logistical – how to deliver the service for the price within the time constraints.

I suspect the Hairy Bikers will face the same issues but with enough people and goodwill anything is possible. I shall be watching the rest of the series with interest.

To watch the first episode, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b014sqyx/Hairy_Bikers_Meals_on_Wheels_Episode_1/

Student designer re-works medical aids as precious jewelry

What if your inhaler was made out of sterling silver or your pill dispenser looked like a beautiful necklace? Would you be less likely to leave them at home? Student designer Hanna Mawbey from the University of Brighton has been researching whether carefully designed, aesthetically pleasing medical equipment can bring about a stronger attachment in the user and make the devices desirable objects in themselves. 

Silver Inhaler

Medical condition: Asthma

Objective: improve appearance, whilst maintaining functionality.

An asthmatic patient Hanna interviewed described their inhaler as “embarrassing” meaning they often forgot to take it with them, risking an asthma attack. This inhaler is made from sterling silver, turning embarrassment into pride and creating a personal attachment with a mundane object. 

Pill Box Necklace

Medical condition: Heart Disease

Objective: encourage wearer to carry medications with them at all times. 

A patient with Coronary Heart Disease described how they needed to take a lot of medications every day. They were forgetful and found it difficult to remember which order to take the medicine in. With this attractive pendant necklace, the medicines can be stored in the order they need to be taken. 

Heavy Bracelets

Medical condition: Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: provide a discreet way of controlling arm tremors. 

Heavy bracelets replace shop bought wrist weights as a discreet and fashionable way to control tremors in the arms. Made in response to a person with Multiple Sclerosis, the bracelets enable the wearer to choose whether or not to disclose their ’disability’ to others, whilst at the same time controlling arm tremors.

Hanna Mawbey is about to start her fourth (BA Hons) year studying MDes 3D Materials Practice at the University of Brighton Faculty of Arts. She recently showcased her work along with work from the “Designing for the Future” Competition at BSRA Science of Ageing Conference.

Guest blog for International Longevity Centre think-tank

I have just written a guest blog about our “Designing for the Future” competiton for the International Longevity Centre.  The ILC is a think-tank focussing on longevity, ageing and population change. Baroness Greengross is the ILC’s Chief Executive. 

To read the blog, visit:

http://blog.ilcuk.org.uk/2011/07/13/guest-blog-philippa-aldrich-the-future-perfect-company-designing-for-the-future-encouraging-designers-to-focus-on-the-needs-of-an-ageing-population/

Competition showcase at the BSRA Science of Ageing Conference

Last night I was in Brighton showcasing some of the work from our “Designing for the Future” Competition at the international Science of Ageing Conference organised by BSRA (British Society for Research on Ageing).

If the assembled scientists were surprised to be infiltrated by product designers, they did not show it and in fact there was a good deal of interest in what we were doing.

What we are hoping to see is a growing recognition amongst medics and scientists that often it is good design which makes their discoveries and innovations more usable and wearable by the people they are aiming to help.

“Designing for the Future” at the Mobility Roadshow

We were thrilled to be invited to showcase our “Designing for the Future” University of Brighton student competition at this year’s Mobility Roadshow.

The Design Zone, run in association with the Royal College of Art/Helen Hamlyn Centre, featured examples of innovative and new designs in independent living. 

Curators Denise Stephens of Enabled by Design and Hayley Smith of Such+Such Designs  are both enthusiastic champions of good, inclusive design.

Here’s some pics of our Competition posters in action, together with the Innovation Showcase and Cool Wall. We were really pleased to see that manyof our products passed the cool test including the Trabasack, Shower Sandal, Doublehandled Mug and OXO Good Grips peeler!

Many thanks to Denise and Hayley for inviting us to be part of this innovative and important addition to the Mobility Roadshow.

Great coverage of Brighton student competition from West Sussex County Times

Some great coverage today for our “Designing for the Future” competition in today’s West Sussex County Times, illustrated with images from the two winning designs, the Living Memorial Stone and an electronic supermarket navigator.

The West Sussex County Times have kindly supported us since we won the Best New Business Award last year.

Their jounalists are also very clued in to the problems and issues that the ageing demographic presents and have been featuring many interesting articles on the subject over the past few months.  Well worth a read if you are ever in the West Sussex area!

Brighton students design products to alleviate loneliness in the elderly

We have just announced the winners of our second ”Designing for the Future” competition held in conjunction with the University of Brighton.  The students tackled many issues likely to affect us as we get older including loneliness.

Third year Jono Redden became interested in the impact of light on mood and in particular loneliness when he entered “Designing for the Future” last year.  As part of the Graduate Show this year, Jono exhibited “Pets“ which are lights designed to evoke the shapes of domestic pets such as cats. The lights are connected to the internet and in particular social media sites. The more of your friends who come on line, the brighter the light shines thus reminding you of a world (albeit virtual) outside the isolation of your home.  This is the first time I have seen the virtual online world made manifest in this way.  A really interesting idea.

Second year, Lucy MacDonald on the other hand was concerned with combating loneliness in a much more direct way.  “The Public Rocking Bench” invites the users to share the gentle rocking sensation of this piece of public furniture thus stimulating interaction between people and hopefully helping alleviate loneliness.

This design provoked much discussion as to whether people would share a rocking bench with a stranger and if so how wide did it need to be and where should it be placed.

Two very different but compelling ideas.

University of Brighton student designer tackles dementia with reminiscence hub

We have just announced the winners of our second ”Designing for the Future” competition held in conjunction with the University of Brighton.  The students tackled many issues likely to affect us as we get older including dementia.

Chloe Meineck designed The Hub, a multi sensory device which stores electronically the soundtrack of a person’s life including favourite music and maybe even people’s voices and ambient sounds. These can be accessed randomly by pulling the differently shaped wooden handpulls.  The idea is to create a shared and engaging reminiscence activity for a dementia sufferer and their families.

Current research about dementia suggests that favourite music can help evoke strong memories about people, places and events which might otherwise be difficult to access.

This product is very appealing and is designed to become a precious possession. Not only is The Hub attractive, it also aims to encourage interaction between someone suffering from dementia and their family, doing for sound memories what Sarah Reed has done for photographs with Many Happy Returns 1940s.

For more information, visit Chloe’s blog: http://www.chloemeineck.blogspot.com/

More student designs from the University of Brighton – The Displacement Jug by Sophia Fong

We have just announced the winners of our second ”Designing for the Future” competition held in conjunction with the University of Brighton. It was great to see that among the entrants were some of the students who had entered last year, now in their final year.

Sophia Fong was amongst this final year cohort. Last year, she produced the beautiful wooden Pill Box. This year’s work is similarly elegant and explores how liquids can be measured by eye rather than by recourse to fiddly and often difficult to read callibrations. 

The Displacement Jug works by placing  different sized stones into a 1 litre jug to reduce its capacity by displacing the water. This transforms the jug into a playful measuring tool whilst still retaining its functionality and accuracy.  

In the same series, the “Graduating Carafe” measures identical amounts of liquid within variously shaped sections, allowing the user to literally ‘see’ how much liquid they are using.

The  “Mix Tumbler” has a fixed 25ml section within it which can be used to easily quantify a standard measure. A practical answer to fussy measuring of spirits or cordial.

All beautifully simple, elegant designs.