Blossom Bond

Blossom Bond is a collaborative design endeavor undertaken with senior residents at Banfield Pavilion, a long-term care home in Vancouver, BC.

This project aims to foster a sociable and inclusive environment, providing residents with an opportunity to engage and enjoy themselves. Drawing inspiration from the concept of Charades and guided by insights gleaned from the residents' hobbies and health conditions, Blossom Bond is a board game centered on communication and nature appreciation.

Timeline: January 2024 - March 2024

Role: Visual Designer, Product Designer, User Researcher (Group project)

Team Member: Hallie Long (Product Designer, Quantity Surveyor, User Researcher) / Rita Wang (Project Manager, User Researcher), Cailine Keirstead (Product Designer, User Researcher)

Tools: Adobe Illustrator / Figma / Laser cutting machine

Design Summary

With Blossom Bond, we hope to enhance feelings of playfulness, imagination, and movement both physical and mental for our co-designers, Elle, Sandy, Liz and Alice. This is achieved through a charade-like communication where one uses gestures to act out a plethora of cards (themes inspired by Elle, Sandy and Alice) for another person to guess. Summer is just around the corner so the end of the game is celebrated by planting a sunflower seed in the garden if they so choose!

Watch the game introduction below

Co-design Process

Our goal as co-designers is to participate in creative activities and collectively co-design a creative game or activity that can be used in the care home to enhance connection and socialization between people in the care home.

1. During our visits with our co-designers, we conducted tests with various game formats and discovered that Charades resonated particularly well with the residents, making it an ideal foundation for our final design.

Idea 1: Drawing game

Idea 2: Tactile game

⭐️ Idea 3: Charades

❌ Difficulty in holding a pen
❌ Less communication between players
✅ Hand exercise
✅ Residents loved art

❌ Difficulty in understanding the game
❌ Hearing difficulty
✅ Residents were excited with different textures
✅ Share about what the items reminded them of

✅ Proper level of physical exercise
✅ Accessible to everyone
✅ Less verbal expression and hearing involved

2. We meticulously documented every interaction with our co-designers, paying close attention to the topics discussed and connecting key points. This process led us to draw inspiration from our conversations, shaping the theme of the game around the interests and passions of our co-designers.

3. The design team was responsible for conceptualizing the primary visual theme and refining the game instructions through trial sessions with the co-designers. Our co-designers actively participated in selecting their preferred visual style and provided valuable input to enhance the clarity and accessibility of each design element.

The co-designer chose their favourite token design from the 6 samples we provided.

The design team rearrange the box layout with the laser cut wood blocks.

The final box layout with better ergonomic design.

The final visual brand design inspired by the co-designers’ hobbies and preferences.

Final Game Design

Reflection

In my understanding, co-design is a process of empowering people by creating inclusive and equal communication between designers and users, and providing a sustainable design outcome. Co-design should value the process as much as the result, which is typically different from a design process in a capitalist world.

I took agency in my learning by consistently comparing my design decisions with objective facts during the co-design sessions. I frequently reviewed and analyzed the readings and research materials provided in class, applying key knowledge during both my design process and interactions with seniors.

If things didn’t go as planned, I would assess whether it was due to a misapplication or misunderstanding of the knowledge, and make adjustments accordingly. If the knowledge didn’t seem applicable, I sought additional information online regarding how staff at care homes would react to similar situations. Additionally, I reflected on my assumptions prior to each visit, aiming to distinguish between rational suppositions and prejudgments.

This learning process was a continuous loop of learning, checking, and reflecting. I believe that my deeper understanding of co-design methods will contribute to a more solid and practical final project.

Blossom Bond

Watch the game introduction below

Reflection

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