Katie Ellis has shared both her expertise in accessible clothing and her start up journey with our Designing for the Future students. Katie began as a buyer for fashion retailers White Stuff before starting her own label, The Able Label. The result of extensive user research, The Able Label is pioneering accessible clothing for
SEEFA has kindly supplied us with judges for Designing for the Future. SEEFA aims to bring people together to influence later life strategies, policies and services to make life better for older people. It is currently on a mission to build a new narrative which challenges perceptions that ageing is nothing more than a socio-economic
Denise Stephens is the co-founder of Enabled by Design, a social business and community of people who are passionate about Design for All. She believes that good design can support people to live as independently as possible, by helping to make day-to-day tasks that little bit easier and in turn more manageable Enabled by Design was inspired
We have been very lucky to have input from two Dementia experts. Fran Hamilton is an occupational therapist at the Brighton & Sussex University NHS Trust. She has shared with our Designing for the Future students her professional expertise about dementia and the day to day challenges it presents. Sharon Marks, on the other hand
Belinda Bradley has been facilitating activity sessions at the Age UK Bakewell day centre for over six years, sessions such as poetry writing, reminiscence and TimeSlips. TimeSlips is a form of storytelling that allows a person to be creative without the pressure of trying to remember and is great for people with dementia. Recently she
Since 2010 Active Minds have been researching, designing and developing activities to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia. Our mission is and will continue to be, to create positive, mindfully designed, human-centred activity products and games to help people lead active lives. Head of Design, Alice Osborne, has been working with
Tom Serpell joined the Designing for the Future judging panel in 2013 and has been an enthusiastic supporter since. With a background in package design, he is a co-founder of Inclusive Eastbourne a business-led campaign to encourage businesses to be inclusive to all sectors of the population including older people.
Richard Child from Grid North Design has supported Designing for the Future since 2012. With a background in 3D Design, he switched paths to web development and got a job with Cabify, a Spanish startup based in Madrid where he worked on redesigning their iPhone and Android apps for more than 100,000 customers in 4 countries. Richard
Maggie Winchcombe OBE FCOT has been a judge for the Designing for the Future project since 2011. She brings extensive experience and expertise in the independent living sector. Maggie qualified as an occupational therapist in 1973 and, after working in the NHS, began specialising in information and advice about independent living products for consumers in
Gretel Jones has been a keen supporter of Designing for the Future acting as a judge from 2010 to 2015. Formerly Policy Officer (Consumer Affairs) at Age UK, Gretel brought her considerable experience and expertise to the judging panel.
