‘Dementia Research in the UK’ Rich picture

The Dementia Research Rich picture was developed with the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research. The picture was commissioned by Guy Goodwin, Strategic Communications Manager at the Medical Research Council. Guy says:

“We wanted to demonstrate how the UK dementia research landscape fits together. To begin with it looked like a very complex picture but working with David helped us see that actually, it wasn’t so complicated after all. David really helped us see how all the different public sector UK investments work together and I think the end result really shows what an important place the UK is for researching better treatments for dementias. And that’s exactly what we want to use the picture for, sharing with all our partners on social media, websites and at conference. Early indications are encouraging. We showcased the rich picture at this year’s Alzheimer’s International Conference where the poster really helped initiate conversations and social media pick up was great too.”

As Guy mentions the aim was to complete the picture in time for the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2017 – a tight deadline which helped us all focus. Ideas and concepts were initially sketched out with Guy and a small team and then shared with a wider group over email. Often the easiest way of sharing ideas and developing concepts is in face to face meetings so everyone can see the ideas emerge, make suggestions and get immediate visual feedback. However, the team were unable to meet so email was the best option. Happily the team were articulate and creative so the process was very positive from my point of view.

The final image shows how all the different groups travel on a road into the future. The different ‘jigsaw puzzle’ pieces of Dementia Research in the UK fit with together with less pieces missing as they move forward.