Reflection
Working on MindFlight gave our team the opportunity to address a deeply human challenge: how to make stressful environments like airports more navigable for people living with dementia. Throughout the process, we learned to balance technological innovation with empathy, grounding our design decisions in dementia research and caregiver insights. One of the biggest takeaways was recognizing that dignity and autonomy are just as important as safety.
Designing for dementia pushed us to simplify, slow down, and think carefully about how information is presented. For example, we chose calming colors, a non-human companion, and minimal interface elements to avoid overstimulation. We also had to think beyond the traveler, considering caregivers, airport staff, and airlines as part of the ecosystem.