DirigeerBlad

Visiting your grandparents with dementia is usually not seen as fun. You do it because you know they enjoy it, but not really for yourself. We immediately had to think about this when we decided to design for dementia. What if we could come up with a concept that would make these visits fun again, for both sides? From the start, our goal has been to make you, the family, and the elderly smile more. People connect over sharing memories together and telling stories together. What if this is no longer possible? Imagine a visit to your parents without a conversation. How do you connect then?

DirigeerBlad offers a solution for this problem. DirigeerBlad is an interactive game with music and lights. A little light will appear on the tray which both elderly and visitor can interact with. Interacting with the light will influence the volume of the music, music which is chosen by the elderly, family and/or caretaker. In a user test, we found that the light and music draws the elderly’s attention, to the extent that other elderly also became interested in the game and a small ‘’competition’’ started. The game can be played with the caretakers of the elderly, other residents or family members. People connect by interacting with each other. Dirigeerblad will make sure that elderly and family will connect even without having a conversation. Having a fun visit is possible again and DirigeerBlad will make you smile more.