Abstract
This study investigates the emotional limitations of current seating products in care home common areas and proposes an emotion-centred design framework to enhance the sitting experience of residents with dementia (RwDs). Drawing from a review of relevant literatures, the study identifies four key limitations in existing seating design: 1) a lack of emotional safety and sensory comfort, 2) insufficient support for interpersonal interaction, 3) failure to evoke familiarity and personal memory, and 4) poor integration within communal spaces and care routines. These limitations contribute to distress, social withdrawal, and environmental disconnection among RwDs, undermining their overall well-being. In response, the proposed framework highlights design strategies that incorporate calming tactile materials, socially supportive layouts, personalised design cues, and alignment with care processes to promote dignity, autonomy, and emotional connection. Findings emphasise the importance of viewing seating not as static furniture, but as a dynamic emotional interface that mediates RwDs’ interaction with space, others, and themselves. The study calls for a shift toward emotion- centred design principles that prioritise the needs of sensory, social, and familiarity for individuals living with dementia. Future work should involve co-design with RwDs and caregivers, prototyping in real-world settings, and exploring adaptive features that respond to changing needs across the progression of dementia.
Keywords
Design for dementia; Emotion-centred design; Seating product; Care home facility
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.724
Citation
Bian, J., Yin, Y.,and Wang, S.(2025) Exploration of Enhancing Sitting Experience for Residents with Dementia in UK Care Homes by Emotion-Centred Seating Product Design, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.724
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 1 - More Than Human-centered Design
Exploration of Enhancing Sitting Experience for Residents with Dementia in UK Care Homes by Emotion-Centred Seating Product Design
This study investigates the emotional limitations of current seating products in care home common areas and proposes an emotion-centred design framework to enhance the sitting experience of residents with dementia (RwDs). Drawing from a review of relevant literatures, the study identifies four key limitations in existing seating design: 1) a lack of emotional safety and sensory comfort, 2) insufficient support for interpersonal interaction, 3) failure to evoke familiarity and personal memory, and 4) poor integration within communal spaces and care routines. These limitations contribute to distress, social withdrawal, and environmental disconnection among RwDs, undermining their overall well-being. In response, the proposed framework highlights design strategies that incorporate calming tactile materials, socially supportive layouts, personalised design cues, and alignment with care processes to promote dignity, autonomy, and emotional connection. Findings emphasise the importance of viewing seating not as static furniture, but as a dynamic emotional interface that mediates RwDs’ interaction with space, others, and themselves. The study calls for a shift toward emotion- centred design principles that prioritise the needs of sensory, social, and familiarity for individuals living with dementia. Future work should involve co-design with RwDs and caregivers, prototyping in real-world settings, and exploring adaptive features that respond to changing needs across the progression of dementia.