Scentimental aims to utilise the sense of smell to enable people living with dementia to recall memories. The project tackles the rising number of people living with dementia and harnessing one of the last affected senses in order to improve quality of life

Glasgow School of Art – Scentimental

Client

Self-led

UX/UI/Product Designer

UX/UI/Product Designer

2020

Role

Year

Glasgow School of Art – Scentimental

Scentimental aims to utilise the sense of smell to enable people living with dementia to recall memories. The project tackles the rising number of people living with dementia and harnessing one of the last affected senses in order to improve quality of life

Glasgow School of Art – Scentimental

UX/UI/Product Designer

Role

Self-led

Year

2020

Client

Dementia is the fifth biggest killer in the world, and is one of the only diseases that lacks substantial progress in treatments. Scentimental is a human-centred brand that accompanies an individual through their experience of living with dementia, aiming to improve their quality of life by igniting memories and creating a bridge for carers and family members to engage with them in the middle to later stages of the disease.

Intro

The goal of the Scentimental was to run a project from inception to a final product/service, utilising different design methods learnt throughout my degree. I wanted to learn about dementia and the life-altering effects that it poses to millions of people worldwide. I explored how design could be used to create interventions that improve the experience for people living with dementia whilst research is conducted in the background to find effective medication or a cure for the disease.

Goals

Dementia is the fifth biggest killer in the world, and is one of the only diseases that lacks substantial progress in treatments. Scentimental is a human-centred brand that accompanies an individual through their experience of living with dementia, aiming to improve their quality of life by igniting memories and creating a bridge for carers and family members to engage with them in the middle to later stages of the disease.

Intro

The goal of the Scentimental was to run a project from inception to a final product/service, utilising different design methods learnt throughout my degree. I wanted to learn about dementia and the life-altering effects that it poses to millions of people worldwide. I explored how design could be used to create interventions that improve the experience for people living with dementia whilst research is conducted in the background to find effective medication or a cure for the disease.

Goals

Dementia is the fifth biggest killer in the world, and is one of the only diseases that lacks substantial progress in treatments. Scentimental is a human-centred brand that accompanies an individual through their experience of living with dementia, aiming to improve their quality of life by igniting memories and creating a bridge for carers and family members to engage with them in the middle to later stages of the disease.

Intro

The goal of the Scentimental was to run a project from inception to a final product/service, utilising different design methods learnt throughout my degree. I wanted to learn about dementia and the life-altering effects that it poses to millions of people worldwide. I explored how design could be used to create interventions that improve the experience for people living with dementia whilst research is conducted in the background to find effective medication or a cure for the disease.

Goals

A human's sense of smell can be one of the last senses affected by the cognitive decline caused by dementia. With this in mind I decided to focus my degree show project on harnessing the olfactory system of people living with dementia in order to deliver experiences that would both guide and comfort them.


I visited a scent workshop in which I was able to create a range of scents using drops of particular smells. The idea here was to gain an understanding of the process involved in creating scents, however I also discovered that an interesting part of Scentimental could be a user's interaction with a 'Scent Lab' post-diagnosis to create their own personalised scents based on experiences they've had in their life. This could be specific holiday smells, the seaside, or their favourite foods.

Research

In the later stage of the disease when symptoms have worsened Scentimental will create personalised diffusers and essential oils based on the information generated at the Scent Labs. The diffusers can be placed around the home and used as a comfort tool to trigger happy memories whilst engaging in things like looking at photo albums, listening to music, and being around family members. Alternatively the diffusers and different scents can be used to help someone living with dementia to navigate different tasks of daily living (for example creating smells of different foods to encourage them to eat).


Scentimental is divided into three levels of user engagement, designed not only to aid the individual, but to provide them with an independence that benefits their mental and physical wellbeing as well as that of their carers and family members.

Experience

The diffusers are made from lava rock which is recognised for its healing properties and grounding, calming qualities. As a porous rock it's a good material for holding and diffusing oils, slowly releasing fragrances over a long period of time.


As people live longer I believe it's my role as a designer to create experiences such as Scentimental that tackle humanitarian issues presented by issues such as dementia care and work alongside healthcare services in a cross-disciplinary effort to provide treatment and methods for managing daily life.

Product Development

A human's sense of smell can be one of the last senses affected by the cognitive decline caused by dementia. With this in mind I decided to focus my degree show project on harnessing the olfactory system of people living with dementia in order to deliver experiences that would both guide and comfort them.


I visited a scent workshop in which I was able to create a range of scents using drops of particular smells. The idea here was to gain an understanding of the process involved in creating scents, however I also discovered that an interesting part of Scentimental could be a user's interaction with a 'Scent Lab' post-diagnosis to create their own personalised scents based on experiences they've had in their life. This could be specific holiday smells, the seaside, or their favourite foods.

Research

A human's sense of smell can be one of the last senses affected by the cognitive decline caused by dementia. With this in mind I decided to focus my degree show project on harnessing the olfactory system of people living with dementia in order to deliver experiences that would both guide and comfort them.


I visited a scent workshop in which I was able to create a range of scents using drops of particular smells. The idea here was to gain an understanding of the process involved in creating scents, however I also discovered that an interesting part of Scentimental could be a user's interaction with a 'Scent Lab' post-diagnosis to create their own personalised scents based on experiences they've had in their life. This could be specific holiday smells, the seaside, or their favourite foods.

Research

In the later stage of the disease when symptoms have worsened Scentimental will create personalised diffusers and essential oils based on the information generated at the Scent Labs. The diffusers can be placed around the home and used as a comfort tool to trigger happy memories whilst engaging in things like looking at photo albums, listening to music, and being around family members. Alternatively the diffusers and different scents can be used to help someone living with dementia to navigate different tasks of daily living (for example creating smells of different foods to encourage them to eat).


Scentimental is divided into three levels of user engagement, designed not only to aid the individual, but to provide them with an independence that benefits their mental and physical wellbeing as well as that of their carers and family members.

Experience

In the later stage of the disease when symptoms have worsened Scentimental will create personalised diffusers and essential oils based on the information generated at the Scent Labs. The diffusers can be placed around the home and used as a comfort tool to trigger happy memories whilst engaging in things like looking at photo albums, listening to music, and being around family members. Alternatively the diffusers and different scents can be used to help someone living with dementia to navigate different tasks of daily living (for example creating smells of different foods to encourage them to eat).


Scentimental is divided into three levels of user engagement, designed not only to aid the individual, but to provide them with an independence that benefits their mental and physical wellbeing as well as that of their carers and family members.

Experience

The diffusers are made from lava rock which is recognised for its healing properties and grounding, calming qualities. As a porous rock it's a good material for holding and diffusing oils, slowly releasing fragrances over a long period of time.


As people live longer I believe it's my role as a designer to create experiences such as Scentimental that tackle humanitarian issues presented by issues such as dementia care and work alongside healthcare services in a cross-disciplinary effort to provide treatment and methods for managing daily life.

Product Development

The diffusers are made from lava rock which is recognised for its healing properties and grounding, calming qualities. As a porous rock it's a good material for holding and diffusing oils, slowly releasing fragrances over a long period of time.


As people live longer I believe it's my role as a designer to create experiences such as Scentimental that tackle humanitarian issues presented by issues such as dementia care and work alongside healthcare services in a cross-disciplinary effort to provide treatment and methods for managing daily life.

Product Development

Get in touch

Get in touch

struan.stewart@gmail.com

struan.stewart@gmail.com

struan.stewart@gmail.com

Get in touch