Compassionate Design places loving-kindness towards vulnerable people at the heart of the design process. It aims to prioritise three constituent elements in the design process:
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Personalised – design to retain a person’s sense of self and maintain their dignity
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Sensory – design to experience the present moment
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Connecting – design to encourage high quality connection with others
Compassionate Design is rooted in Positive Psychology and builds on Positive Design methodology (Desmet and Pohlmeyer, 2013). It aims to design for the complex needs of people living with dementia.
It is a methodology developed by Professor Cathy Treadaway and used by CARIAD researchers in their design research for people with advanced dementia.