DBA Inclusive Design Challenge 2009
A three-part individual development system based on existing cognitive behavioural therapy models - id helps people to adopt a positive attitude towards change, maps their personal barriers and potential, and connects them to mentors and possible activities, thereby encouraging them to take the crucial first steps in leading a less sedentary life.
Background
Research shows a direct correlation between physical activity, state of mind and social interaction but there is no evidence to suggest that information or campaigns alone affect the way that people act in relation to lifestyle change. Sustained long-term behavioural change relies on understanding the individual, changing mindsets and practical help and support.
How it works
id is an individual development system in three parts with versions for personal or professional use:
id Frame introduces people to the possibility of positive lifestyle change by understanding their personal barriers, opportunities and potential. The professional framework in the version for carers uses common terms of reference, improving communication between inactive people and professional practice.
id Self exists as a starter pack of cards to be used with a friend or professional helper while the on-screen version allows users to build models of themselves. Both help people gain a better understanding of their current position, their barriers to change and opportunities for the future embodied in a set of themes. Each bears a unique number to enable more complex modelling and analysis.
id Space connects people via the id Self profile to local mentors who have a real appreciation of the barriers that person faces and may be able to highlight local opportunities.
id is designed to be owned, promoted and mentored by the people who use it.
User Input
The design team looked at existing international studies on health and lifestyle trends, spoke to eminent psychologists and health care professionals, and ran workshops with carers and people who turned their lives around.
What the designer said:
'It is satisfying and inspiring to spend time with the people we are trying to help. It can be very humbling to realise that our perspective is often blinkered - the insights and ideas of users can be quite brilliant. The DBA Challenge provides us with invaluable case studies. Some of our best clients have been attracted to us in this way.'
John Corcoran, Wire Design
What the judges said:
The judges were impressed by the team's in-depth research into the causes of inactivity and by their analysis of the intractable problem of how to incentivise people to change their behaviour. They felt that id was a genuinely new concept with a novel anti-advertising approach. This 'beautiful virus', as the proposal was called, harnesses the potential of social networking as a profiling tool and mode of dissemination to allow discovery on one's own terms.
