TREE OF LIFE
Raising awareness about Cognitive health
Description
‘Tree of Life’ is a game designed to initiate conversations and make people understand cognitive changes by making them connect these changes to their personal experiences.
A rising proportion of people in India are getting older as a result of longer lifespans and lower fertility rates. This population ageing is anticipated to be accompanied by a sharp rise in dementia prevalence. Their cognitive health starts to deteriorate during midlife (45-60 years) and one can observe changes. Such changes can be overlooked as a part of normal ageing which is instead warning signs of cognitive decline or even dementia.
Problem Statement
How might we help people in midlife (45-60 years) to recognize cognitive changes in order to decrease the risks of dementia?
process
Research
Desk research
Survey
Empathy interviews
Synthesis
Persona
Affinity Diagram
Empathy map
Journey map
How & Why laddering
Ideation
Brainstorming
Octalysis drivers
Conceptualisation
Prototyping
Low-fidelity prototyping
High-fidelity prototyping
Testing
Usability testing
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM
Warning signs of Dementia
During midlife (45-60 years), people undergo physical, mental, emotional, social and cognitive changes. Some of these changes can be identified as warning signs of dementia. However, these changes are often overlooked as normal ageing and thus ignored or misdiagnosed.
Memory Loss
Misplacing things
Disorientation to
time and place
Problems keeping
track of things
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Changes in mood or behaviour
Problems with language
Problems in understanding visuospatial information
Poor or decreased judgement
Difficulty performing familiar tasks
survey
89 Responses
(b/w 45-60yrs)
57%
feel stressed
60%
misplace things
57%
forget names of familiar objects
Most common changes
Affects work & losing interest
Misplace things
Forget names of familiar objects
Most common chronic diseases
Diabetes
High BP (Hypertension)
Thyroid
EMPATHY INTERVIEWS
24 interviews
10 interviews b/w 45-60 year olds: identified from survey with changes in behaviour
6 interviews - people with dementia
5 interviews - neurologists/psychiatrists
3 interviews - family members
Increased Likehlihood of Cognitive Impairement
Due to lack of awareness about cognitive changes & dementia even amongst GPs
Overstimulating Environment
causes risk factors such as depression
Higher incidence rates of dementia
Due to reduced preventive care
Faster cognitive decline at old age
Due to stigma around aging and dementia
Goals of an elderly
2 basic goals - freedom and sense of belonging/ownership
Level of efficiency
differ between stages of cognitive decline
expert review from doctor
Lack of awareness about differences
normal ageing
Occasional Forgetfulness
Slower processing
Difficulty finding the right word
Increased time for complex tasks
Longer time to learn new information
Dementia /Cognitive Decline
Memory loss
Confusion & disorientation (spatial awareness)
Difficulty in keeping track of conversation
Difficulty in handling complex tasks
Disinterested to do activities
CONCEPTUALISATION
board game
Selected
Understand risk factors & symptoms of dementia
Connect changes observed to the cognitive aspects
cognitive kit
Make a person understand and become aware about dementia
Recognise changes in cognitive health
vr experience
Realise how dementia affects daily life activities and functioning
about the game
‘Tree of Life’ is a game designed to initiate conversations and make people understand cognitive changes which are normally overlooked for normal ageing by making them connect these changes to their personal experiences.
Learning about cognitive domains
Understanding changes related to each domain
Connecting changes observed to the game cards
game components
Each profile or ‘guardian’ has a special ability
PROFILE
Shows the suggested route to take to move through layers.
YOUR PATH
CARDS
Each leech card has a combat level and the after-effects are mentioned
LEECHES
Play strength cards to defeat the leeches
STRENGTHS
tree of life attributes
These attributes are associated to the cognitive domains of a human brain. All the leech and strength card are thus connected to these attributes.
Shows risk factors and symptoms of dementia
Depicts a cognitive or physical ability such as creative thinking or reaction speed
TESTING COGNITIVE DOMAINS WHILE PLAYING
Each attribute is tested or active while playing the board game
ATTENTION
Create pairs of defeated leech cards
VISION & PERCEPTION
Object orientation is tested as players try to figure out the correct spots marked on path
PLANNING & DECISION MAKING
Strategise on how to use your profile to the team’s advantage
MEMORY
Memorising the path suggested by the card
LANGUAGE
Ability to read and understand the description of each card
THEME & DESIGN OF THE BOARD
The overall theme of the game is based around a mystic forest which is maintained by the Tree of Life. But as time progresses, leeches start to appear and start affecting the Tree of Life. Guardians are summoned by the Tree of Life to protect the forest and reach the Tree of Tranquility to restore balance within the forest.
colour
Green is the color of life. It is associated with nature, health, growth, and prosperity.
SHAPE
Inspired from rings of a tree to depict age Similar to ageing, i.e., more changes are observed as one becomes older
LAYERS
Each layer depicts the stages of ageing and dementia.
1. Subjective Cognitive Decline
2. Mild Cognitive Impairment
3. Mild Dementia
4. Moderate Dementia
5. Severe Dementia
how does it optimise health span
1
Raising Awareness
about Cognitive Changes
2
Maintaining cognitive health using exercises
3
Observing cognitive changes or decline at the right time
4
Early detection of cognitive impairment or Dementia
usability testing
Tested with 24 users
Understanding their views on the game, experience of playing it with and takeaways
Learnability
Engagement
Understanding
An interest was sparked to play the game after knowing the rules and playing 1 round.
Able to connect changes in a their life to the cards & cognitive aspects which started a conversation
Suggestions
Combat levels are very similar and needs to vary more
Each cognitive aspect can be related to a layer making players go through each type of cognitive ability
Thoughts
“ Once understood, the game’s very fun to play & especially with family or relatives”
“It does become challenging after layer 2 especially”
expert review
Reviewed with 2 doctors
What was reviewed
To verify if the risk factors and factors of cognitive domains applied in the game.
To collect overall feedback on the applications and development of the project.
Reviewed with
1 neurologist
1 psychologist
What worked
Abstraction of warning signs and risk factors into a game which supports cooperation
Able to balance the overall theme with reality without being straight to the face
Game related exercises to activate different cognitive domains
Suggestions
Have different levels of the same card which shows the intensity of the risk factor
Negatively affect the player too when they lose a battle, eg: not able to play 1 turn
Different set of cards for each layer (with ageing, new changes come in or intensify)
Thoughts
“ The game can question someone their cognitive abilities which in turn generates awareness about changes they’ve observed in themselves or others
“ I like how the game can start a conversation amongst families about their brain health”
video narrative
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About
About
As a designer, I have worked on experience, service, and product design projects. I excel at understanding problems in-depth and effectively ideating to deliver enhanced experiences for the targeted audience.
My work is rooted in industrial design and tangible interactions, where I enjoy creating solutions that engage users on a physical and emotional level. I am also passionate about the healthcare sector, driven by a desire to design impactful, user-centered solutions that improve quality of life and accessibility.
For me, collaboration with team members is key, as it fosters creativity and ensures diverse perspectives are incorporated. I strive to create meaningful, innovative solutions that always keep the intent and the needs of the end user in mind.
Explore my portfolio on desktop for the best experience—tablet and mobile views are coming soon!
Achintya Chaudhary
About
About
As a designer, I have worked on experience, service, and product design projects. I excel at understanding problems in-depth and effectively ideating to deliver enhanced experiences for the targeted audience.
My work is rooted in industrial design and tangible interactions, where I enjoy creating solutions that engage users on a physical and emotional level. I am also passionate about the healthcare sector, driven by a desire to design impactful, user-centered solutions that improve quality of life and accessibility.
For me, collaboration with team members is key, as it fosters creativity and ensures diverse perspectives are incorporated. I strive to create meaningful, innovative solutions that always keep the intent and the needs of the end user in mind.