Alyssa Batch is in The Hatch
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Alyssa Batch | Bachelor of Fine Art (Spring ’16)
What is your product and what is the project about?
These comforters are reversible and developed from questions the family and loved one with dementia answers to create their personal design. One side designed using typography to display personal information like their last name, the number of grandchildren they have, as well as their favorite season in context to enable a conversation for caregivers and family who enter the room. The same information would be mirroring the other so the patient can read these words from laying in bed and keep their minds moving; this could be used as an exercise for them on days they refuse to leave their room. On days the words are too much for the patient you simply flip the comforter over to the other side. The other side is a pattern designed off a description the family and patient chose from the choices of geometric shapes following the descriptions of what each shape symbolizes to describe them as a person.
What sparked this idea?
The concept of my product came about from a previous design project where the task was to take a problem in the nursing home/healthcare environment and create a solution. As I was touring nursing homes I noticed most seemed to have a separate dementia wing, and that all of the bedding in each room was so plain. Most of these people live out the remainder of their lives in these homes, and seeing their bed that plain white didn’t bring a comforting home-like vibe. I decided I wanted to bring comfort to these people through a custom bedding design that can keep them engaged. It’s a hard decision for families to make to place their loved one in a home; bringing them comfort knowing their loved ones are cared for also was a huge part in the concept of the product. Families, care providers, and visitors have a hard time coming up with things to talk about with people living with dementia, having conversation cues on the comforters make it easier to engage the patient in conversation. This could potentially be a breakthrough in dementia memory care treatment.
How does this project reflect who you are as a person? As a designer?
My thesis has changed quite a bit from what it started out as but one thing that has stuck through the transition is this idea of “comfort.” We all seek comfort in different ways; I was using tools that give me comfort to explore who I am as a designer. As a designer I took a problem and poured my passion into creating a solution to empower a positive experience.
What are you most excited about for this project?
I’m most excited about using design to help people, to bring people that sense of comfort we all yearn for. Creating a solution to show just how powerful design is!
Where do you hope it goes?
I hope to impress the Falcon investors that come April 7th to The Hatch and get them to see the value in this product. As I continue to further my designs and research I hope to inspire others to see what an impact design makes on the world.
What do you hope to get out of this experience?
I hope to grow as a designer and continue to create meaningful work. I am very passionate about this business/product I created and am pleased to say I have received a lot of positive feedback and interest from many people. I can only hope this product takes off and can bring comfort to all parties suffering from dementia.