Consultancy and Speaking Events
Having worked in healthcare design, I had always been aware of the significance of lighting, colour and finish for visually impaired people. The importance of this was brought home to me in November 2012 when I permanently lost the sight in my left eye. In the Spring of 2013 I embarked on a collaborative project with sight loss charity Thomas Pocklington Trust to combine their research material with my own experiences both as a designer and as someone with a visual impairment, to develop a guide to promote best practice. ‘Homes and living spaces for people with sight loss: A guide for interior designers’ was published in October 2014.
Many people living with dementia will experience problems with their vision. It was my own experience of lack of visual acuity and how the built environment affects how confident and independent I feel in my surroundings, which lead me to specialise in dementia friendly design. Dementia is a sensory as well as cognitive issue.
I now work with housing associations, care operators, designers and architects, consulting on interior design for people with sensory and cognitive decline. I also give talks at Universities, speak at trade events, deliver webinars and take part in panel discussions around dementia friendly design. Making an environment suitable for someone with impaired sight or dementia does not mean that it should stand out as different. It should be a comfortable space for everyone to be in. Good design is inclusive design.
Consultancy fees vary depending on the scope of the project. For more information please contact us.
Care & Dementia Environments Conference & Exhibition
Marianne Shillingford, Karen Haller & Jacqui Smith at 100% Design talking about colour contrast
Jacqui has delivered talks to on healthcare design, to various Universities including Solent, Coventry and Buckingham New University. She has also spoken at trade shows and conferences including The Care Show, Health+Care, Care and Dementia Environments and the Virtual Interiors Show on design for sensory and cognitive decline. Jacqui was also asked to run a work shop at the NCF Managers Conference in November 2019 discussing new approaches to interior design. During 2020 and 2021 Jacqui has collaborated with Accora to deliver webinars on care home interiors and the impact of COVID on interior design. The latest Accora webinar ‘ Refurbishing established care homes and keeping them marketable’ can be viewed here.
Testimonial
Our International Construction Design and Management Course were tasked to design an elderly living residence complete with construction site plans, costings, exterior and interior design and landscaping.
Your wonderful seminar gave all our students insight into how interiors can affect the quality of life for the elderly residents. They began to understand that there is much more to designing spaces for the elderly than just making it look good. Your carefully took them through appropriate choices for flooring, finishes and colour. We were so grateful for your input to this Unit Jacqui, it gave the students the opportunity to see how a professional interior design company addresses elderly living design.
Your interactive seminar was paced brilliantly for our students and they were all excited to start applying this new knowledge to the interiors of their buildings. You will see the results of your informative input in the student work at the show. We hope you are able to continue working with us on the Course in the future as your input greatly enhances the student experience.
I believe that good design can only be achieved if you fully understand what and who you are designing for. As soon as I started working with Jacqui her passion and understanding of dementia friendly design shone through. Jacqui really listened to what the customer wanted to achieve from each space and then using her design flair and creative ideas for resident engagement, plus colour psychology she was able to provide inspiring, innovative design concepts.