Letting go of familiar routines
Do you know that feeling of excitement mixed with uncertainty? That moment when you can feel something new taking shape. You take the first steps, curious and a little nervous, trusting that you’ll learn something new along the way.
That same sense of excitement and uncertainty can be felt in care for older people. The sector is changing, calling for new ways of working and collaborating, and the courage to let go of familiar routines. It can take some figuring out, but it also creates space.
Care professionals are increasingly joining forces with designers. A design-led approach helps break familiar patterns, explore new possibilities and try things out without knowing exactly where they will lead.
In A Healthy Sense of Excitement, six projects show what can happen when care professionals and designers venture into the unknown together, with courage, curiosity and a sense of fun. We invite you to do the same. Because those small moments of courageous curiosity together can spark something bigger.
Six perspectives on the future of care
The six projects approach the future of care for older people from different angles.
Project 1: What makes life meaningful? What brings joy and connection? Art can play a powerful role in how we find meaning in life, shifting the focus from questions of care to questions about a life worth living. Here, care professionals develop creative skills, while artists learn care skills. This gives art a lasting place in care and creates space for more personal, meaningful care.
Project 2: Glove on or off. A glove or a washcloth. Small choices made hundreds of times a day add up to something much bigger. Turn the panels and discover what your choice means for residents and their families, care professionals, the organisation and the world around us. Which approach supports good care and is demonstrably more sustainable? There is no single right answer. What would you choose?
Project 3: Only when organisations share a vision for the future can they determine how to build towards it together. Pieter van Foreest and Muzus bring different futures to life, sparking conversations between local partners about the future they want to create and the roles and responsibilities involved.
Project 4: What does your future with AI look like? Meet an older version of yourself and make choices about care, wellbeing and technology. Your decisions open up conversations about autonomy, humanity and quality of life. The AI Mirror helps organisations explore the kind of future people want and, ultimately, shape a shared direction for human-centred AI.
Project 5: Innovation moves faster when you work together. At Watsnjoe, care professionals, designers and experts work together on challenges from everyday practice. They start small, test ideas, learn and share the results with the wider sector. One of these explorations is VONDST: how can we create care environments where people genuinely want to spend time? The Samen Smul Box is one tangible result.
Project 6: Good care for older people starts with a place you truly want to call home. Over&Weer works with residents, loved ones and professionals to create places where wellbeing, connection and independence are central. Use the building blocks to create your ideal home for later in life. What would make it feel like home? Share your wishes and ideas, and help build a future where people truly feel at home.
