REDISCOVERED TIME

Design for Patient Care was a project challenged us to consider the Patient Care system and anything associated with making medical care more efficient for the patients it provides for. I chose to focus on how I could help individuals who suffer with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I wanted to look at what people were doing for them and figure out how I could make it less of a burden for not only those suffering with Alzheimer’s but also for the families of those affected by the disease. It is never a good situation to be in so the less you have to worry about the better it will be on the family. 

What I chose to create was a memory box families could customize based on a set guideline for the boxes. Memories are triggered by our senses and the more senses you are exposed to the clearer the memory. Typical memory boxes will be worn out shoe boxes or a small metal box, both are not always the best for the patients to be handling. Sometimes the boxes are falling apart on the individual or they are too big and heavy for them to constantly be using. This is why I created a memory box brand called Rediscovered Time.

For the Rediscovered Time memory boxes I created both a standard layout example an adjustable layout for the interior of the box and worked with a lightweight material for the boxes. The box layout can be easily adjusted to the items customized in the boxes. Family members purchasing the boxes would pick generic items to be placed inside the hand-size box so that no personal and valuable items will be placed in the boxes. The individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s can easily interact with objects they won’t have to worry about breaking or losing. Notes can also easily be placed in the boxes to help trigger memories. 

Specific memories about their own lives will not miraculously come back through these boxes but the hope is for conversation starters. As long as you are keeping their brains working with stories they can tell, either their actual memories or memories they think are theirs, they will feel reconnected with their humanity and keep communication flowing with family and friends.