Who decides what's beautiful?

A little walk for the fingers.

I was looking for new creative ideas when I came across sensory cushions made for people living with dementia. They caught my attention.

My first reaction was, Is this really what a cushion for an adult living with dementia should look like? From what I understood about dignity and treating adults with respect, something about the way they were designed didn't feel right to me.

I became curious and started researching where these cushions came from, why people began making them and why they were still being used.

I also started looking for a different approach. The strange thing is, I didn't know what that alternative should look like. I just knew I hadn't found it.

After more than a year of thinking and experimenting, I still don't have a simple answer.

When I look back at my first prototypes, they looked very much like the cushions I had questioned. Buttons, fringe ribbons, zips, printed words, little flowers and stars. You name it, it was probably on there.

I really didn't know what I was doing. I tried different fabrics, motifs and combinations of tactile elements. Some things didn't feel quite right, but I couldn't stop making these little pieces. They were my little experiments, and I made hundreds of them.

After a few months, I started wondering why I wasn't getting anywhere. Nothing I made felt quite right. I realised I had been judging other people's designs without really questioning my own assumptions. I was also influenced by what I saw online and by ideas about what was considered appropriate for someone living with dementia.

So I decided to stop looking online for answers. I went back to my own experience and what I believed in. I began to think about colours, shapes and textures in a different way. Slowly, my approach to designing started to change.

One thing that has influenced my designs is Angela Wright's Colour Affects System. It looks at colour and design through four seasonal personalities: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

In this framework, I see myself as mainly Autumn, with a strong influence from Summer. Autumn is associated with warmth, earthy colours and natural materials like linen. Summer is softer, with muted colours and flowing lines.

When I look at Doux Cœur, I can see both. The natural linen, the quiet colours, the curved lines. These are all things I am naturally drawn to. I hadn't quite realised how much of myself was going into the pieces.

I also wanted to bring in a little playfulness. That's where the spirals, mazes and flowing lines came from. But at the same time, I wanted the pieces to look elegant and grown-up. Something someone could hold without people giving it a second thought. Perhaps they might even compliment the piece.

There is another reason why beauty matters so much to me. I find it upsetting how easily older people, people with disabilities and people living with dementia can be overlooked.

I wanted to make something beautiful for them. Something I had taken time over and made with care. I wanted them to have something lovely to hold.

And this is where I started questioning myself again. Was I designing something that suited the person who would use it, or something that fitted my own idea of what is beautiful and dignified?

To me, design matters. I still believe in the pieces I make. But I realise now that I was judging those cushions through my own idea of what was appropriate. I didn't know what they meant to the people using them.

If someone enjoys bright colours, ribbons or playful shapes, why should I judge that? And if someone prefers something simple and understated, that's fine too. Surely what matters is what the person enjoys, rather than what we think they should enjoy.

A piece doesn't need my approval to hold deep meaning for someone else.