Virtual Breadcrumbs addresses memory loss and the fear of forgetting information. People typically develop triggers that allow them to recall information, however, this can become problematic for people diagnosed with various forms of dementia. The project resulted in a visual system to aid memory.
Currently 700,000 people in the UK have been diagnosed with various forms of dementia and this is predicted to steadily rise as the population ages. Providing care currently costs the health services £17bn in the UK alone. Methods of recording memories have existed for some time, however controlling and making sense of the recordings can often prove problematic, especially when people are taken out of familiar environments.
This design project is a response to the issue of memory loss and dementia and an investigation of existing assistive products and systems. The design question is that: if our environment shapes our memories, can we use our memories to inform our environment and provide meaningful reminders? A series of key findings were drawn from care home visits, conversations with experts and user interviews, which informed experiments in the area of memory.
User interaction formed a key element of the design process. Facilities and care practices were observed and key topics were identified, sets of questions exploring these topics were compiled and used in conversation with a variety of key groups, from those suffering dementia and their friends and families, to experts in the field and care home managers. The dialogues took place in care homes, at round table discussions at the Dana Centre, and during user forums. Memory experiments were also developed and carried out with volunteers testing mnemonic techniques and the importance of multi-sensory information.
This experimental design proposal looked at the problem of memory loss and began to explore means in which information we collect through our lives could be summarised and communicated back in meaningful ways. From key findings visual outputs were designed, such as wallpaper that contained important events in a person's life. Further experiments were also carried out with travel images reduced into a single strip and tested on people who had been involved in the travel to assess their ability to provoke memories.
