DAUS: experience & interface design for users with dementia
Background
Client: Dementia Australia Organization
Team: Liquid interactive – producer, project manager, client engagement, content writer, developers, senior designer, UI/UX designer
Role: Design system (contributor), design testing, illustrations.
Visit: https://www.dementia.org.au/
Goals
The multidisciplinary team at Liquid was tasked with creating the design system and brand identity for Dementia Australia’s digital products. After several months of design research and user testing, the design system was developed and approved.
Our team was also tasked with creating a series of 34 illustrations of varying sizes that would be used on the client’s website.
Once the illustration guidelines were finalized and the style defined, I had the pleasure of creating most of the illustrations using Adobe Illustrator.
The design system
Establishing a design system only – without building the platform afterwards – means designing a set of rules and guidelines that guarantee coherency and consistency across the brand’s platform.
The client’s internal team puts together the pages, content, and components. This means we can neither control nor approve the final result.
It is a double challenge to create a design system in this context.
One has to make sure that the elements are coherent together, and that the design principles provide clear criteria for designers and non-designers alike at every phase of the brand’s seamless experience.
Illustrations
When the client asked us to illustrate their platform, we carefully thought about the best way to do it.
Illustrations are key in enhancing the user interface and experience by providing a memorable experience. It is easier to identify and remember an illustration rather than a photo.
Moreover, when people browse a page looking for information, an illustration has the ability to convey complex and abstract ideas in a simple way. A thoughtful illustration is a highly valuable asset for users who struggle with dementia.
The illustrations should feel like an extension of the Dementia Australia brand: respectful, inclusive, personal, and uplifting.
They have to be readable and simple to cater for our users’ abilities and needs, by avoiding unnecessary decorations and embracing simple shapes.
By keeping those principles in mind and using sensible compositions, we were able to achieve our goal and create 34 cohesive and memorable illustrations.
The client expressed their genuine satisfaction with our team’s work, which exceeded their expectations. The illustrations were not initially part of our team’s engagement, but our positive working relationship and established trust led to a longer and more fruitful collaboration.