Ode

Ode is Rodd's latest social innovation and a venture partnership with The Olfactory Experience. We have created an inclusive, simple to use wellbeing product to reawaken appetite, engagement with food, and nutritional awareness for people living with dementia.


The design-led venture and has been funded and supported through the Living Well with Dementia Design Challenge, a competition being run by the Design Council and the Department of Health to rethink life with dementia.


This short film gives an overview of the insights and intentions.



Anyone that would like to know more about ode or would like to contact either of the partners can do so here at myode.org

Rodd and Olfactory Experience to develop innovative new concept to improve life with dementia

We are pleased to announce that Rodd and partners Olfactory Experience have been selected by the Department of Health and the Design Council as one of 5 successful teams to develop innovative product and services to improve the quality of life for those living with Dementia.


The announcement was made today by the Department of Health and the Design Council which will award the teams a share of £360,000 to design and develop prototypes of their ideas.

A million people in the UK will be living with dementia by 2012 and one in three of us who live to 65 will have some form of the condition. The 'Living Well with Dementia' project aims to develop the next generation of products and services, drive innovation and stimulate the market, in a bid to improve the quality of life for those with dementia, their families and carers.

Our proposition 'Scent Clock’ is a home scent-device to stimulate appetite and enhance nutritional status in dementia. The device will look to increase the likelihood of eating, reducing the issues of weight loss, dehydration, fatigue and malnutrition that people with dementia experience.

We will blog about the project as it develops, with final prototypes unveiled in the Spring.

Rodd establish new links to address the nutritional needs of older adults

Rodd have formed a new partnership with AgeUK and VISION Culture to explore Service Design opportunities that address the nutritional needs of the UKs older adults.

More project details will be announced later in the year.

Rodd are creating service design propositions that break the malnutrition cycle amongst older adults.

Rodd have been selected by the Design Council/Technology Strategy Board to develop innovative service design propositions that lead to increased independence and improved quality of life amongst the UK's over 65's.

This article from the Telegraph gives an overview of the problem.

Great workshop over...

....now willing my flight home to arrive.

Both Ben & Pete schools make the finals

Rodd Directors have helped two schools reach the finals of National design competitions.

Both schools will present their design proposals to a judging panel at the Design Museum later this week.

A full blog post to follow.

Calm before the storm

A beautiful sunny morning at the studio.

Expecting a full-on Ideation day today with colleagues and visitors.




Pic/ Morning Sun. Chart House


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Rodd included in the '50 Best Blogs for Industrial Design Students'

Rodd has been included in the top '50 Blogs for Industrial Design students'.... which is fantastic! If you want to see who else is on the list hit the jump.

More about Rodd and our user centred approach.

Rodd Directors appointed as Design Ambassadors by the Design Council

Alongside our current commercial commissions at Rodd, Peter and I have been asked by the Design Council to support two national schemes as Design Ambassadors to Schools.

Peter's work is part of the Schools ‘Water Challenge’, an initiative that is exploring ways in which water consumption can be reduced, and mine, ‘Keeping Connected’, is helping to improve the way older adults connect to younger people, their community and the wider world by using service design.

Both challenges are aimed at Key Stage 3 students with members of the professional Design industry providing support and mentorship. The schemes are part of a national competition due to complete in July 2011.

You can follow my involvement on the Keeping Connected challenge here over the coming weeks.

Read more about Rodd and our work in the field of user centred design.

Contact Rodd/