Ariel View of Location
Simplified Layout of Location
New Horizon Centre
@Tampines
New Horizon Centre is a Dementia Daycare Centre located at Tampines St 34, Block 362, #01-337. It is located near Tampines Mart, a well-known neighbourhood location where locals can buy food and groceries. For this project, we would be introducing a new wayfinding system around the neighbourhood of the daycare centre. This dementia wayfinding project spans across 5 HDB buildings. They are: Blk 359, Blk 360, Blk 361, Blk 362, Blk 363.
Fonts and
Block Number
When designing for dementia, it is necessary to keep information clear and direct. The shape of the font should be considered as well. Clear typefaces and sans serif fonts are best for dementia-friendly print. It should also be in a colour that contrast with the background. Therefore, the font that I had chosen was Avenir Black. The numbers are simple to read and easy to identify, thus eliminating any chance of error!
Avenir Black Font
Hover me!
This is a picture showing the void deck of Block 363. Like the other blocks, it looks the same and does not show any distinction from the neighbouring blocks. Designing for dementia includes making this distinction so that the blocks could easily be identified. Thus, if you hover over the image, you would see a mock-up of how the walls could look like in block 363. The walls are painted green, and the murals and block numbers are easy to identify as well!
Peranakan
Basket
Wooden
Clogs
The Use of Nostalgic Objects
Ice Gem
Biscuits
Household
Calendar
Radio
To make the identification of buildings easier, Nostalgic objects are selected to be their new identities. Through existing literature and projects, PLWD are better at remembering events/items of the past than current events. Each HDB block will be represented by an object. Together with Dementia Singapore, these nostalgic objects are: Wooden Clogs (Blk 359), Radio (Blk 360), Calendar (Blk 361), Peranakan Basket (Blk 362), & Ice Gem Biscuits (Blk 363).
These items are selected for the murals as they are everyday household items that can be commonly found in the past. Click on each item to see how they were used in the past!
Mural Design
To draw these murals, I had a few keywords to adhere to. These murals have to bear resemblance to the real object and should not be abstract drawing in anyway. Thus, the keywords for these murals are: Clean, Recognisable and Simple. These 3 keywords help to guide the design and artwork process of these murals.
Check out how the drawing is done here!
1. Sketch
2. Outline
3. Colour
4. Highlight & Shadow
Blk 359
Blk 360
Blk 361
Blk 362
Other Mural Designs
Colour and Murals
In addition to murals, the buildings are also divided by their colour scheme. The colours are able to act as a secondary signifier that can help PLWD to spot their location from far. Thus being in the void deck, would be able to help PLWD pinpoint their location. The combination of Blocks, Murals and Colour are as follow:
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Block 359 - Wooden Clogs - Purple
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Block 360 - Radio - Orange
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Block 361 - Calendar - Red
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Block 362 - Peranakan Basket - Blue
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Block 363 - Ice Gem Biscuits - Green
Colour palette used for
identifying the buildings!
Hover over to see the changes!
Reinforcing Direction
To help reassure PLWD are in the right direction / location, these symbols would be placed at the lift lobbies at well. Thus, it would be easier for PLWD to associate the lifts and the block together.
Information Pillars
In addition, Information pillars are also utilised to help guide PLWD home. It gives these individuals to more wayfinding information that they can use easily
Direction, block number, mural image and colours are grouped together in close proximity to show distinction between arrows. This layout of information help to categorise information better, and thus making it easier for PLWD.
Floor wayfinding
Floor wayfinding can be commonly found in hospitals. Why not extend this to the neighbourhood as well? Most PLWD are senior citizens, between the age of 60-80. Current literature have shown that It is recommended to keep signages and visual aids below eye level, for easier visibility. The floor/ground is an untapped potential that is usually empty. We could used these existing space to help elevate the wayfinding experience for PLWD.
These arrows seperate the HDB blocks base on colour, number and murals. Some suggested areas to put these arrows could be intersections, connecting hallways, entrance and exits of HDB buildings as well as under the void decks!
Check out the wayfinding arrows in action!
Hover to view the Changes!
Check it out in Real Time!
YAH Maps
In addition, You-Are-Here (YAH) maps are also useful to help with their manageability. Previously, YAH maps are considered a hindrance to PLWD because they would have to mentally orientate the maps. But due to their cognitive limitations, PLWD are unable to do so. Thus, these YAH maps would be oriented so that the PLWD user would always be facing the true north direction. Depending on the location of the map, it would have a different orientation from one another. Check out the proposed location of the YAH maps below!
