Innovative tools for brain injury on show at Barcelona Design Week

RMIT researcher Dr Jonathan Duckworth, a digital media artist and designer, presented his two Australian Research Council funded projects ELEMENTS and RESONANCE as part of his keynote address at the event. 

"Both projects are specifically designed for patients with upper-body injury, such as from acquired brain injury, stroke or cerebral palsy," he said.

"They work by helping people to relearn basic movement skills using a touchscreen table top.

"Hand-held objects can also be used to play games, compose music and create animated artwork."

The researcher describes his work as enabling collaborative mechanisms that combine art and digital design with psychology, occupational therapy, computer science and neuropsychology.

As part of his presentation, Duckworth focused on the future of design and what it meant for professionals in the industry.

He spoke of an intersection between arts, design and science, giving the example of the work carried out at RMIT's Creative interventions, Art and Rehabilitative Technology lab (CiART).

"Designers in the future will traverse multiple domains to manage, create and apply learning to many fields," Duckworth said.

"They won't be confined to the design world as problems become more complex than ever."

Duckworth's presentation during Barcelona Design Week was part of a panel with other design and digital media experts, such as:

• Sam Baron: Director of Fabrica's Design Studio
• Andrés Ortiz: Architect and partner/founder of Bestiario
• Carmen Bustos: Founder of Soulsight
• Chris Moody: Creative Director and Global Principal at Wolff Olins
• Christopher Grant: User Experience Director at King

Barcelona Design Week, which was first held in 2006, has been running for the past ten years at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona.

RMIT's involvement was coordinated by RMIT Europe 

Story: Karen Matthews