Designed with Dementia: Developing Creative Communities

This paper presents an ongoing research project situated within the investigative context of design and dementia. The work adopts an open approach to working with people living with dementia by recognising and utilising the inherent personal creative abilities that every individual possesses no matter their cognitive ability. Through a series of carefully developed co-design workshops, “Designed with Dementia” supports people living with dementia to express themselves fully. Their input is highly valued and is held in the same esteem as any other collaborator. In this project, participants become collaborative designers helping to propose possibilities, evaluate and select solutions, give their knowledge and skills freely, and generally “make things happen”. In particular, co-design is used here to engender sociable interactions and collaborations, change existing patterns of behaviour amongst all the participants, and look to change assumptions and pre-conceived ideas.