Joy Lives Here
In April, the astonishingly smart and very kind Sylvia Verkley approached us with her dream – reminisart™. A true passion project she’d been contemplating for four years since experiencing her father-in-law struggle with dementia. The once robust, avid fisherman, lover of life was becoming discombobulated. Increasingly losing his sense of place. Connection.
One day, while visiting him, he keyed in on an advertisement for a Ford truck. Recognition reignited, for Fred worked at Ford for forty years. He immediately seemed calmer and less stressed.
The Alzheimer Society notes there are over 500,000 Canadians living with dementia with around 25,000 new cases every year. They anticipate that in the next decade these numbers will increase a whopping 66%.
That’s beyond sobering.
1-5 Canadians has experience caring for someone with some form of dementia.
56% of Canadians fear having Alzheimers with their concerns of losing their independence, being a burden on others, and failing to recognize their loved ones.
The obvious eventuality is that long-term care will play a part in most of our and our loved-ones journeys. Pre-COVID, this was still a daunting realism. Just in Ontario in 2019, there was a wait-list of 34,000 patients looking for long-term care spots and an average wait-time of 161 days.
And then COVID happened. And all the ugly truths of a horribly broken industry became painfully clear.
With 90% of current long-term care patients diagnosed with some variation of cognitive impairment and the inability of family to visit as often as they like, Sylvia and the Reminisart team knew that there was no time to waste. Her dream product was needed now. Not a year from now, as planned.
Reminisart™ creates bespoke, elegant wall art collages from one’s family photos on strong, medical grade vinyl that can be easily applied, removed and even reapplied all with no damage. With an easy online process, customers provide the memories and Reminisart’s skilled artisans create the custom, stunning wall-art. These big and beautiful pieces are designed to stimulate connection and bring comfort in isolation while sparking engaging conversations.
The Branding: Capturing The Joyful Spark
Like always, we started with a deep dive in research mode focusing first on the buyer.
From interviews with folk who had loved ones in care, we quickly understood that our customers’ connection to the brand would be an emotional journey.
They longed for a sense of reassurance that their cherished humans were okay. Happy. There was an overwhelming compulsion to help, to act to ease the isolation and loneliness.
They were seeking that connection. Sparking memories of joy.
Colour Was Everything
Colour played such a psychological role in this project. We needed to use colours that not only motivated purchase but stimulated cognitive impairment. We also wanted to convey that reminisart is a joyful gift for a loved one who is very much alive.
We chose bright vibrant shades rather than muted hushed tones. These colours appealed to our target market while also being the best colours for aging eyes. Bright jewel tones of coral, orange, peach, apricots, pinks and violets are much easier to distinguish than pastel subdued hues of green, blue and yellow .
It’s not about the past
Even though the project reflects past moments and achievements, the result is in the now. Remininisart’s intent is not to memorialize someone – it is to invigorate connection and eliminate isolation. It announces that someone wonderful, interesting, learned & loved resides here.
That Joy Lives Here