Observation and interaction: Lessons from a Midwestern retirement home

Dementia, a disease associated with loss, can be a profound teacher. Dementia patients helped a group of students from St. Louis gain insights and develop empathy like no other college class could. Students from the University of Missouri–St. Louis paired with dementia patients from Brooking Park Retirement community to create one-on-one interaction designs. We expected to learn about how primary research strengthens design, but gained insights we never expected.