Approaches
All of my work is grounded in a human-centered, iterative design practice. I design with stakeholders, ensuring that projects are impactful and sustainable. Every project is social and interactive, whether it takes place in a memory care unit, a gallery, or a public square. Here are the approaches I use to move from ideas to working experiences.
Multisensory Design
My projects integrate sound, touch, scent, and visual cues to create experiences that invite engagement on multiple levels. This approach grew out of my museum work, where interactive, sensory environments helped diverse audiences connect with ideas. Now, it shapes how I design for memory care. In over 190 sessions with residents, staff, and families, multisensory modules have sparked joy, recalled personal memories, and supported staff in fostering positive engagement. By layering haptics, music, props, and media, I ensure that people at different stages of dementia can participate meaningfully.
Participatory Practice
Every project I develop is shaped with and by the people who will use it—whether museum visitors and staff or residents, families, and care teams in memory care. Drawing on my background in interaction and exhibition design, I bring methods for co-design, prototyping, and iteration into cultural and care settings. This participatory approach ensures the experiences are engaging, practical, and sustainable for staff while giving participants—visitors, families, and residents—a sense of agency and delight. Involving people at every stage keeps the work grounded in real needs and lived experiences.
Equity & Access
A central theme in my work is ensuring that experiences are accessible across abilities, settings, and resources. In museums, this meant designing exhibitions that engaged visitors of various ages, backgrounds, and learning styles. In memory care, it means creating multisensory platforms that adapt to residents at different stages of dementia, while also being feasible for staff to implement in both public and private settings. Equity here involves not just participation, but also closing the gap between high-tech interventions often reserved for early stages and the tangible, social experiences needed in later stages. My goal is to make cutting-edge solutions accessible to all.
Interactive Environments
I design environments and installations that promote active participation rather than simply serving as passive backdrops. In cultural and educational contexts, this has meant crafting spaces where people can explore phenomena together; in care settings, it means shaping rooms where residents, families, and staff connect through social and multisensory engagement. My process begins by listening to the ecosystem of stakeholders and observing how people already interact within a space, shaping environments that foster interaction and connection in everyday care and cultural settings.
Narrative & Storytelling
Stories and sequences provide shape to experiences. In my work, narrative can unfold through songs, films, or guided activities, offering anchors for memory and connection. In museums, storytelling helps visitors relate ideas to their own lives; in memory care, it invites residents and families to share laughter, recall personal histories, and create new moments together. By weaving narrative into multisensory design, I create experiences that are both familiar and open to discovery.
