Donna Levi’s research while affiliated with Vancouver Coastal Health and other places

The Emily Carr University (ECU) Zeitgeist Project is a unique design-based project concept where communication design students and residents in care homes engage in a variety of activities over six sessions together, with the goal of co-creating mini-publications featuring the residents’ stories. While the project’s overarching purpose is to provide social interaction and inter-generational exchange for the residents and students, it also provides an opportunity for the residents, including those living with dementia, to showcase their stories and to actively participate in a design project. The students in turn, not only have the opportunity to develop their design skills, but also learn to connect as young adults with older individuals, who have meaningful stories and experiences to share with them. Overall, this paper discusses the relationship building that occurs between the students and the residents, specifically the storytelling and co-designing relationships, that are key to the ECU Zeitgeist Project’s success as a reciprocal and inclusive program engaging older adults, particularly those with dementia, in collaborative and participatory design processes.

The Zeitgeist project asks what role design students can play in enhancing creative endeavours and wellbeing of residents through an intergenerational co-design programme. Between Spring 2018 and Summer 2019, Zeitgeist brought together undergraduate design students and residents of long-term care homes for a project that challenged them to co-design publications that focused on the life experiences, stories and knowledge of the residents and emphasized an intergenerational exchange between two very different groups of people that could have a tangible, positive impact upon each other. It is often the case that residents in long-term care homes face issues of social isolation and diminishment of personal identity. In care homes opportunities for genuine creative and personal expression tend to be limited due to limited resources and a focus on medical priorities. It's not unusual for residents to feel like they no longer have anything to contribute to society, that their story has closed and they no longer feel challenged, which can lead to cognitive decline. Design students are predominately young and tend to have limited life experience, with many still living at home and unsure about what direction they want their life to take. Zeitgeist looked to explore the possible benefits of a reciprocal relationship between the two parties by engaging participants in a range of creative activities that would allow for a mutual exchange of information and skills. This project uniquely positions an art and design university as a community partner for developing new approaches to enhance the wellbeing of seniors.

In Spring 2018 and then again in Fall 2018, residents in a long-term care facility came together with undergraduate communication design students, to co-design and co-write a mini publication series featuring resident stories. Through our project, small teams of two to three students were paired with two to three residents, to create a mini-publication over the course of six visits with each other. The purpose of the Zeitgeist project was to create a platform for meaningful exchange and social interaction between students, residents, their families and care home staff through both the design process and the final design outcomes. This project gives voice to residents, providing an opportunity for creative and emotional expression, stimulation of positive memories and the engagement of residents in a unique and meaningful activity. Simultaneously this project offers design students learning opportunities in storytelling, publication design, co-design and participatory design research. This project was inspired by the Zeitgeist Kollektiv, a public editorial design and storytelling project within a care home system.