Memory! A series of trivia card games for home caregivers to play with Alzheimer’s patients in cognitive therapy.
The Brief
Memory! Design a product or service that helps improve upon an existing issue in the medical field. The game is aimed to give home caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients a way to practice cognitive memory in a fun way, which in turn puts less stress on the patient and caregiver.
Research Contextualized & Simplified Three Research Techniques
Interview
Affinity Diagram
Case Studies
Memory! During my research, I conducted two interviews. The first was with the husband of an Alzheimer’s patient who had been providing homecare on his own for two years and just hired an aid for the first time. I also conducted an interview with an Alzheimer’s Specialist from the CNY Alzheimer’s Association with whom I discussed home care giving. From these interviews, I put together an affinity diagram which I drew many connections from. In addition, I compiled several case studies which discuss the physical and mental ramifications that home care giving causes to family members and hired aids.
Memory!
Game Iterations A jukebox app to provide Alzheimer’s patients with music therapy.
40’s 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s Memory
Jukebox
90’s Current
Trivia card game to help patients exercise cognitive memory.
50’s Chuck Berry Elvis Presley Little Richard Jerry Lee Lewis
ory!
Mem
MJ ororyy g!ame. MTehm e mem
Memory! The game gives the AD patient a game to play once a day with their home caregiver to refresh their memory and practice stay fresh on their history as well as more recent events. The person buying the game has access to different versions of the card game created for different age demographics.
After coming up with multiple concepts, I narrowed them down to two final ideas. One was to create an app for Alzheimer’s patients to easily listen to music from different eras (receiving music therapy). However, after my research I concluded a trivia card game would not only help patients with cognitive therapy, it would also provide caregivers with an enjoyable way to aid them.
Final Concept
Memory! After having the cards professionally printed and sized for easy reading by older gamers, the cards were placed in a custom cardboard journal which finished off the look of the “Memory!� game. Memory! was put to work with a twenty-one year old college male who could be a potential caregiver. He found the game and instructions to be very simple, straightforward, and entertaining.
In Context