Contextual Design

Working with Places, People, and Practices

In design for culture and care, context is not background — it is the material of the work. Contextual design recognizes that spaces, practices, and relationships shape how any intervention will be lived.

In museums, this has meant attending not only to content but to circulation, visitor behaviors, staff routines, and institutional aims. Exhibits are not inserted into a vacuum; they emerge from and alter the dynamics of a building and community.

In dementia care, the same principle applies. Understanding how staff manage time, how families visit, and how residents interact with rooms and routines is essential. Without this, designed experiences risk becoming add-ons rather than integrated supports.

This approach sits alongside co-design and participatory design. Contextual design foregrounds place and practice. Co-design emphasizes collaboration with stakeholders. Participatory design prioritizes agency — in other words, giving people the ability to make choices, shape their own experience, and influence the outcome. For people living with dementia, this may mean small but important opportunities: deciding whether to engage, how long to stay, or what element of an activity to focus on. For museum visitors, it may mean discovering a path through content or interacting with others on their own terms.

Together, these approaches offer a framework for interventions that are situated, equitable, and responsive.

For those working in life enrichment or caregiving, contextual design reframes the task. It shifts focus from providing a generic activity toward shaping experiences grounded in the specific conditions of people and settings. In this way, design becomes a means to create not only moments of engagement but also systemic support for staff and families.