Project: Near & Dear
Year: 2014
Team: Alisa Rantanen, Tony Belton, Miguel Martinez, Edward Cox
Awards: Red Dot Design Concept, Best of the Best
Near & Dear preserves the independence and autonomy of caregivers and patients through the use of wearable technology. It provides emotional relief and peace of mind in the face of illness by indicating patient status in a readily understood format and offering a simple means of direct communication.
The Insight team outperformed nearly 4,800 competitive entries from 63 countries to win what is arguably today’s largest and most prestigious international award for design concepts at a professional level.
Feelings of helplessness are inherent in facing illness, but can be diminished through interwoven perceptions of knowledge, control, and freedom. This concept allows users to monitor their loved ones when apart, freeing them to maintain their normal lifestyles.
Near&Dear preserves the independence and autonomy of caregivers and patients alike.
The app is structured in a top-down approach, emphasizing the most important information at the highest level. The home screen provides this overview for all the patients being cared for, any alerts for dimensions being tracked, as well as if patients are currently asleep or awake.
Selecting any patient delves into the specifics of his or her status by providing summaries of activity levels, vitals, location, sleep, and any reminders – all in a single screen.
By reliably monitoring the patient, organizing data, and prompting time-related actions, Near&Dear lifts some responsibility from the caregiver. The system also facilitates a support system by allowing primary caregivers to add secondary caregivers to the network, sharing the burden.
