Pad.
This is the project for my thesis, the main purpose of this project was to design an object that helps the patient with Dementia and the people around then to enjoy the dinner time, developing a reconnection and making the moment more inclusive.
How does it work?
PAD is a project focused on the process of eating and feeding when the user has dementia. PAD works like a tool to help the patient eat properly, is tableware designed to be with the patient throughout all the stages of dementia, as it adapts to the needs that the patient develops in every stage. At the same time, one of the main ideas of this project was to promote the inclusion between the patient and the people that surround him/her, to have a better relationship.
Who is it for?
PAD is for people who are experiencing dementia, caregivers and family around them.
The research for this project was made through desk research, interview with experts (doctors, caregiver, patient and family), sketching, prototyping, shadowing.
Research.
Foam prototype to experiment with shapes
Spoon prototypes.
Shadowing at Alzheimer Mexico (Care home).
Insights.
There’s not accessible tableware design for this type of disease.
As a result of this, we use to adapt tableware for kids to help them to eat.
Based on the investigation, I decided to develop a set of tableware for two reasons:
Built trust with the patient: All the tableware use the same colours and textures to make the user get used to the object little by little.
Inclusion: The purpose of this tableware is to create an environment where the patient and people around them eat in the same type of plate without any distinction.
The set of tableware is a divide in 3 stages:
Exploration
Once the concept was ready I was time yo have fun! Most of the prototypes were made in pottery to tested with real stakeholders in real situations with real food.
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Ergonomic test with a pottery prototype.
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Colour testing.
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Ergonomic test with a clay prototype.
Final Result
This project was part of the Dementia Lab 2018 as the first Latin American project of this event
Outcome.
I had the opportunity to test the final prototype to real stakeholders in a real situation, the feedback was quite positive, this project is in the phase of funding to have the first production by the end of 2021 with melamine and silicon as the mains materials.
The colour blue was chosen to help the user with the contrast of the food
