BRI FORST

Brianna Forst was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas. Coming from a big family, her support team is 99-deep and counting. She has been working as a designer for Razorback Athletic’s creative team since 2018 and interned for the boutique Shop Impressions Online last summer. When she isn’t at work or in the studio, Bri stays active bouncing from yoga, volleyball, or tennis. Her design interests stem from identity and all things conceptual. Her degree project targets recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s patients. The system she has created aids the patient’s cognitive ability in a way that encourages them to maintain healthy relationships, autonomy and other fulfilling affordances life continues to offer as they adapt.

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“FRANKLY, THE DESIRE FOR INDEPENDENCE AND MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS DOESN’T END AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED WITH ALZHEIMER’S.” 

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disease that impairs a person’s cognitive abilities. Toxic proteins form around neurons making them incapable of sending signals throughout the brain.  This disease affects one out of every three people over the age of 85. In the United states alone, 200,000 people are diagnosed before the age of sixty-five. Early symptoms include troubled judgment or struggling to complete tasks. The symptoms of Alzheimer’s dramatically increase as their disease progresses into the moderate and severe stages. After conducting primary and secondary research, Brianna Forst recognized that so many of these patients face an additional battle balancing their mental wellness. Even though so many of these patients are surrounded by support, it’s easy for them to feel as though their needs will become a burden. It is important that people directly affected by this disease are able to maintain their dignity and remain as independent as possible in the mild and moderate stages.

Brianna developed Elle, a concept for an at-home, voice based accountability system that creates autonomy for newly diagnosed Alzheimer’s patients while preserving healthy relationships. The Elle system lives within a Portal Plus device and is meant to encourage engaging activities and exercises that stimulate the patient’s mental wellness while aiding them as they go about their daily routine. Elle learns her user’s current capabilities and gradually increases her level of assistance as the user’s brain degenerates. The system toggles between two modes, mood and mind. Mood focuses on their mental health/relationships and prompts the Alzheimer’s patient to complete exercises like recording a story to share, reaching out to a friend, or going for a walk. It also includes profiles of loved ones that visit. The profiles contain anecdotes of recent conversations and common interests/favorites. The alternate mind mode presents task cards one at a time with varying, personalized levels of instruction and a monthly/weekly layout.