The article about designing for people with amnesia explains that amnesics become very disoriented and confused when they travel places, even if they are with their caregivers. The writers of the article developed a tool that addresses the problem of amnesics with disorientation, the “OrientingTool”. They used Participatory Design when testing the device on amnesics because PD advocates respect for all collaborators and encourages participants to contribute and this way, the designers can get a better understanding of the impairments of the users. The most interesting parts about this article was the different ways the designers used PD in testing. The amnesics made design decisions by consensus and through them, four techniques were learned that supported memory during and in between the sessions. I thought it was very cool that the designers decided to go this route through the design process.
Shelley's HCC729 Blog 