Adare gets top prize at design oscars
'Mind Book™' wins prestigious DBA Inclusive Design Challenge
Marketing and Customer communications expert Adare has secured the DBA Inclusive Design challenge award, taking the first place prize jointly with Judge Gill.
The win was announced at a ceremony at the Royal College of Art in London on 18th March 2008. The highly acclaimed DBA Inclusive Design Challenge, now in its eighth year, is an annual inclusive design competition, in collaboration between the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre and the Design Business Association (DBA).
The recognised competition seeks to illustrate the key role that inspired design and communications can play in terms of improving the quality of life for disabled and older people, and has been described by the BBC's Business correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones as "the combined Oscars and Olympics of Inclusive Design".
Adare secured the coveted prize for its creation of Mind Book™, a stimulating multimedia software application that facilitates positive interaction between people with dementia, their families and carers.
Mind Book™ is a memory trigger in the form of a virtual scrapbook that addresses issues of communicating and coping with dementia. Its aim is to help those who live with dementia to increase their confidence, maintain relationships and improve interaction in social situations.
Adare chief executive, Robert Whiteside, said: "The fact we have secured this award is testament to the skills of our creative team. I would like to congratulate all of those involved in the project and convey my appreciation in terms of their hard work and commitment to giving something valuable back to society.
"The DBA Challenge is all about inspired communications - delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time. This is the cornerstone of Adare's strategy; changing the way our clients communicate with their customers by developing highly innovative solutions that are media-neutral."
The judging panel commended the interactive, relationship-building concept of a life book, particularly one that was simple and realisable now for older people or could be built up over a lifetime by anyone to future proof their old age.
The panel viewed Mind Book™ as a crucial creative tool that would alleviate the isolation experienced by dementia sufferers. The judges said: "It would bring stimulus and enjoyment, helping everyone negotiate the changed nature of communication in a simple practical way in which all family members including the grandchildren could take part. For professional care staff, Mind BookT would be an invaluable aid and the beginning of the journey to build a full picture of the richness of an individual's history helping them to engage in a more personal and meaningful way with the person under their care."
Sarah Holmes, Creative Services Director at Adare, added, "It is excellent to be recognised for our considered creative thinking and ability to design inclusively. When we embarked on this challenge we really immersed ourselves in finding out as much as possible about Dementia. We met some great people along the way who helped provide inspiration for us to create this simple yet powerful tool.
"Mind Book™ is about interacting and communicating on different levels and we hope this tool will benefit and enrich the lives of not only the dementia sufferer but also their families and carers with a truly inclusive design."
Six teams were short listed for the DBA Challenge: Adare; FW Design; Judge Gill; London Associates; N1 Creative and Pearson Matthews.
* The judges were: Hazel Macmillan, Design Director; Wolff Olins, Professor; Jeremy Myerson, RCA Helen Hamlyn Centre; Maria Parsons, Executive Director, London Centre for Dementia Care; Landa Relph-Knight, Editor, Design Week; Nina Warburton, Director, Alloy; Elanor Warwick, Head of Research & Futures, CABE; Adrian Wheeler - Creative Director, Creator
