AIDING BRAIN INJURY, ONE PATTERN AT A TIME
Sorry, What? is an auto-ethnographical research project that develops resources to aid recovery from brain injury. My project toolkit steers away from sterile, impersonal and dull hospital resources and uses visual design to assist recovery. Guided by my personal experiences with brain injury, healthcare and wellbeing, I set out to create the resources I wished I had to help me with my journey.
Often in healthcare the thought of using resources to design a health poster, brochure or even an information card seems unnecessary. however my experiences taught me the value that design can add to a patient and their journey. This lead to me questioning why as we progress in adulthood do we suddenly lose the same thought and care we receive as children? Why do the Pooh Bear posters disappear and instead of being replaced by the images of Friends do we instead have posters about diseases, cancer and other health problems?
My project looks at my personal experiences with health and healthcare and the role design played in aiding my recovery. The comparison of my experiences as a child and an adult has guided the principles that I applied to Sorry, what?
Each part of this toolkit was designed so that the end user can make it their own and use it at their own pace. This was really important to me as everyones recoveries are different and it’s not a one box fits all. Overall there are seven components to the toolkit:
- Emotion Cards
- My story
- Journal
- Stretches journal
- How are you feeling today? Poster
- Braintivities poster
- Time to drink up sticky notes
