Compassionate Design: keeping loving kindness at the heart Compassionate Design is a methodology that has been developed and evaluated through research led by Professor Cathy Treadaway over the last 10 years. A series of projects, funded by the U.K. and Welsh governments, have investigated innovative ways of designing for people living with advanced dementia and cognitive impairment. The aim of the research was to inform the design of new products to improve wellbeing, maintain personhood and enhance the quality of life. ‘Compassion’ describes the sense of concern we feel when we are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to see that suffering relieved. It is a pro-active word that implies agency and suggests the need to ‘get involved and effect change. As a design approach, it assumes the designer to be an active participant in strategies to make a positive difference in the lives of others who are suffering. It demands the design researcher to be empathic and responsive to the person for whom they are designing, informed about the context in which they live and the challenges they face. Compassionate Design focuses on three vital components that are key when designing for people who are cognitively impaired: design that stimulates the senses is highly personalized and helps to foster connections between people. It places loving-kindness at the heart of the process, ensuring that design validates and maintains the dignity of the individual and provides them with sensory stimulation that connects them to others and the physical world around them - even when it is perceived differently by them, and they may no longer be able to remember who they are. The lecture will present examples of how Compassionate Design has been used as a methodology to develop innovative products for dementia care. Biography: Cathy Treadaway PhD, FRSA, FHEA is Professor of Creative Practice at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, and Research Director of HUG by LAUGH Ltd. Over the last ten years, her academic research has focused on design for dementia care. She was the Principal Investigator of LAUGH (2015-2018) and LAUGH EMPOWERED (2018-2021) research projects which have resulted in a range of designs for innovative products for people living with dementia, including the award-winning HUG. This interactive sensory product is designed to be cuddled and contains a simulated beating heart and music player. HUG is now being used by care homes residents and patients in hospitals in the UK, where it has been made available on prescription. HUG by LAUGH Ltd., in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society UK, is ensuring that HUG is now commercially available and can benefit people living with dementia and cognitive impairment.