Talking with Diana de Arias is a real energy boost. Her joviality is contagious, even overcoming the distances imposed by the screen during this interview. Vital, audacious, brave, cheerful. Nothing and no one can stop this young designer. Not even illness.
Today, Diana is featured on 360 for being the creator of Decedario, a playful, fun, and entertaining game. Like any game, you might think. Right? However, Decedario is a very special game because, beyond its recreational component, it has a therapeutic use.
More specifically, Decedario is designed to facilitate cognitive stimulation. It includes over 500 pieces and numerous exercises for stimulating language, memory, attention, executive functions, and even academic skills like reading and writing.
Its design emerged after a tough experience. At just 23 years old, Diana suffered a stroke. Can you imagine having to learn to speak from scratch at that age? For her, it was like being born again.
After the surgery, the recovery process from a brain injury is extremely hard and very slow. As Diana says, it’s “a pick and shovel” work, where the patient has to learn to speak from scratch, like a baby. The hours of effort are many to try to regain that lost part of life.
What happens when you don’t have adapted therapeutic tools?
To make the recovery process easier and overcome the hurdles imposed by the illness, it is vital to have two support elements:
First, having someone who pushes you and provides the necessary support to overcome that rough path.
And second, having adapted tools that make that rehabilitation process easier and more enjoyable.
Diana found human support from her family and the extensive therapeutic team that worked with her for months and months. So, the push and motivation were very present. However, in that recovery process, Diana encountered a stumbling block: there was no adapted tool for the clinical field.
A small spark that moves everything
That was how the spark that led her to create Decedario was ignited, a game designed as a therapeutic tool to meet the needs of people who, like her, have to live with some type of brain injury or disorder:
- Autism (ASD)
- Hyperactivity (ADHD)
- Language Disorder (LD)
- Dyslexia
- Down Syndrome
- Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
- Alzheimer’s and other dementias…
Now, Decedario is a working method used in both clinical and educational fields, as well as by professionals and families with different needs. She tells us herself in the following interview:
Diana, a pleasure to have you on 360. Tell us about Decedario. We know the project emerged during the rehabilitation process after suffering a stroke. At what point in that process did you think, “I am a designer, and I have to do something”?
Officially in 2018, although it wasn’t a specific moment. The thing is, it’s important to be attentive to life, to the things that happen in front of you, so that you can shape them at the right moment. When I was rehabilitating, the professionals working with me used any type of material. I mean they were playful games, but they weren’t materials designed for patient intervention. They themselves spent extra hours outside of consultations to create their own material. Of course, these are things they then told me in therapies: “I have to adapt the materials…” and these messages stuck with me. And I thought: “I have to do something. I don’t know when, but I have to do it because I have the two most important things to do it: personal experience and professional experience.” I started an investigation. I had a super-invasive operation and had to recover. So, I had to leave university for some time. Keep in mind that the recovery process is something that lasts a lifetime. I am not in the same condition as before.
One of the conditions for that recovery was daily work. That stuck in my DNA. Those personal experiences become part of you, and you project them in everything you do. When the final degree project came around, I said to myself: “Okay, I’ve been working on commercial projects for four years. If I want to dedicate myself to that kind of project in the future, they’ll be within my reach.
Now that this has happened to me, why not choose a more social project? Why not pour my personal and professional parts into it?”
For me, Decedario is a bridge; it’s not just a game. It’s a source of daily knowledge that has helped me connect with the people I wanted to help. That’s what we designers do, we get down to earth to create a product. I poured all the knowledge and experiences I had lived. At first, I started with a therapeutic tool for people with Acquired Brain Injury to work with, but then I realized it is for all kinds of people with cognitive difficulties, whether it’s Alzheimer’s, autism, hyperactivity, etc. That implied a responsibility, and that’s what led me to reconsider the final degree project afterward.
How was the collaboration with therapists and professionals? Did it come at first, or later, with a mockup in progress?
As designers, we get projects of all kinds. Projects on any subject where you have to inform yourself, research… to offer a quality product. I know everything behind the entire design process, and in this case, it was something I had experienced. My thesis question was: how can design improve the quality of life? And from there, I started working.
Those were cold-call actions (she laughs). I contacted Nueva Opción, the Association for Acquired Brain Injury of Valencia. I knocked on the door. I said: “Hi, I’m Diana, I had a stroke, I went back to university, I have my final degree project clear…” I explained the situation. Paco Quiles sat me in his office and said, tell me. From there, it was wonderful. He has never stopped helping me.
From the field research process, everything very schematic and educational, I started to relive everything that had happened from an analytical point of view. A very intense process, where there are people who cannot even speak or tell their experience (because they suffer from aphasia). What I really did was the hero’s journey. A circle where you have traveled an entire path and have returned to give it back to society.
After the research, I moved to the ideation phase, already with neuropsychologists, speech therapists, educators, rehabilitation specialists… It was a health project in which I had never worked, and which had many parts: the patients or users —as they call us—, the neurorehabilitators, the families, the design and production (the factory), and each one pulling for their own side.
Regarding the setup until reaching the prototype, how was the testing process?
The difficulties, at a scientific level alone, were tremendous. It was something completely novel. I met with them every six days, they gave me feedback, and I made a prototype. And so on, until reaching a product adapted to very specific needs. It was about seeing in real-time if the product worked or not, with real professionals and patients.
The testing came. I tried it everywhere. Again, cold call: with children in schools, in Alzheimer associations… I tried it everywhere. I collected all that information to create the final product. For me, prototyping and creating a quality product were extremely important; even more so if it is going to help improve people’s quality of life. Otherwise, it would not fulfill the objective. And prototyping is key. But we did very important scientific work. Well-documented.
What barriers did you encounter? What was the biggest difficulty?
Finding funding. With the other things, I felt in my element; I was enjoying it a lot. However, at that time, finding funding, 10,000 euros, was very difficult for me. And we achieved it.
Then, by coincidence (or causality), I entered Lanzadera. I found myself in an amazing innovation HUB. With super young, highly trained people eager to start. That experience allowed me to compare and see ways to fund the project. What I saw as a mountain, for them, was something natural.
Evolution
More than 5 years have passed since Decedario was born. How has the project evolved? Have you made variations or improvements in the design?
From the beginning, I was clear that it had to be a minimum viable product. You can’t do something halfway because you’re working with people. Because those people are the first feedback you get.
There have already been 3 editions of Decedario. And every time we launched a new edition, there were improvements. Designers have quality standards and must be very perfectionist. And in these things, you have to be very delicate and precise. From all the feedback I gathered, there have been small changes in the design that have meant an improvement in terms of use and application for professionals and families.
How has Decedario changed you? For example, as a designer, are you fully dedicated to this project, or do you combine it with other assignments?
Today, Decedario is my way of life. When I left university, I already had a contract with a communication agency, but just before starting work, I had a relapse.
As I mentioned, a stroke changes your life so much. In the hospital, you forget about superficial things, and that’s where I made the decision. There was something inside me that wouldn’t let go. A hunch, intuition. I talked with my parents, and we looked for a way to make this project economically sustainable. But it is very complicated, given the double work involved. My goal was (and is) to create a socially impactful and economically sustainable project.
Does the cost pose a handicap?
We call it a game because we try to incorporate a playful component and make the training fun. But it is really a therapeutic tool. Therapists and educators themselves often use games as tools. These kinds of therapeutic resources typically cost upwards of 100 euros. For example, psychological evaluation tests are priced over 100 euros. We are talking about different fields here.
Moreover, Decedario is a unique product. There are no other materials that encompass as much cognitive work. Professionals can adapt it to each patient. The issue is that the industry is not interested because it’s a product that aims for a social good rather than an economic one.
Regarding feedback, tell us about the reactions you’ve encountered. First, for the professionals, what does Decedario mean to them?
For professionals, it saves them thousands of hours of work, even outside their working hours. When they see the material, they say to me, “Wow, Diana. We have everything we need here.” Keep in mind that these are very vocational professions, and they want users to have a better quality of life. To achieve this, they want to have the best materials to help them, so they dedicate a lot of time to it.
After some time, I send them a survey, and the response is wonderful. All the testimonials agree on how useful and helpful Decedario has been for them. It is very gratifying to know that we have achieved a 100% success rate.
And for users and patients?
Personally, I maintain continuous direct contact with users and patients, almost 24 hours a day. I ask them how they are doing, how they have applied the product, and what they thought of certain videos. This is how you know the product works because you see the challenges they overcome.
It’s also great with families because it is very helpful for them. They share their experiences and stories with Decedario, and they even send us videos showing how it has helped them. I remember the case of a girl who must be about 7 years old now; her family gave her the game for her birthday and sent me a video—they loved it.
In the end, we have created a tool so simple that anyone can use it, any family. Additionally, the digital platform has more than 40 guided activities in short videos that complement the material. So, if anyone has any doubts, watching the video quickly shows them how to apply it.
Obviously, if you are a professional, you apply it from a more scientific, therapeutic, or educational perspective. Because it has this duality, it can also be applied in school, therapeutic, and clinical settings, as well as by families.
I know why I recovered when I had a stroke. First, because of the great support I had, but also because of the work I did on my own with rehabilitation tools. People who haven’t gone through this wouldn’t know. But outside of your therapist’s hours, you have to work hard. Having lived that experience, I knew how to get the best results. I knew that through design, I could contribute significantly to others’ recovery using this tool.
You also mention families. What does the tool mean to them?
For families, Decedario is fundamental; it’s a tremendous support. Families spend the most time with patients, and often they lack training or have very limited training. With people who have suffered a stroke or any other process, having this tool opens up many possibilities for families to work with.
I know because I’ve been through it. When I left the hospital, I found myself in a black hole. You think, my life has changed 180 degrees; where do I start? My entire paradigm has shifted. I have to start from scratch, but I don’t know how! And on top of that, I have all these cognitive difficulties. Tools are essential, and it’s important for families to have that information.
Social Design
In your TED talk, you often speak about “designing for people.” It sounds utopian, but you can speak from personal experience. To what extent can design positively change our lives?
Design is all around us. Our computer, the chair we sit on, the phone… EVERYTHING. Everything is designed. It is extremely important for society. The question is not what we design, but for whom we design. Obviously, it’s for people.
The only thing missing is designing for minority groups within design. For example, if we had been born without hands, wouldn’t we have developed things to substitute for hands? Of course, we would.
We must think with the premise that we are all equal, but each person has different needs. Design can be a very important tool for social change.
Do you agree there’s a global perception that design today is very trivialized and superficial? What’s your view on design today?
Designers are doing an immense job. It’s up to us to explain to the world what design is. For example, when my grandmother asked me what I was studying or working on, I had to explain what design entails.
It’s a role that should be included in our daily tasks. I have a saying: the best way to lead is by example. That’s it. If we want society to be connected to everything we do and design, we must be the references. We need to be like influencers, the ambassadors of design. Each of us has to contribute. Look at what has happened in Valencia. We have been working tirelessly to ensure design is not seen as a niche.
Any social design project that has made you say “wow” or touched your heart?
I recently heard a podcast about a case in Colombia that I found fascinating. The Ministry of Defense asked a creative from an agency: “Do you think communication and advertising can stop a war?” The response was: “It’s a big challenge, but we are convinced it can; the only thing I ask is for time and not a one-time action, but a complete redesign.” The communication campaign lasted several years, during which they managed to demobilize guerrillas in Colombia. Instead of attacking, the military dropped messages from guerrilla members’ mothers using planes. The secret was they started talking to the military as people, not as soldiers. It’s impressive: guerrilla communication against guerrillas. There’s a book about it.
I believe 100% in design to eliminate any barrier. The definition of a designer—though there are many—is someone who provides solutions to problems. In a war, the solution is the same. Communication is the most powerful weapon in society in every sense.
Future
You are a designer and entrepreneur. What’s next? Do you have any dreams or other ideas in mind (beyond Decedario) to start?
First is Decedario, the project I’ve dedicated myself to. It’s something unprecedented and something I never imagined until the problem affected me directly.
Now, there’s the digitalization process. Although I haven’t dealt much with digital product design, I’m not afraid of anything. So, I’ll move forward.
I’m a very restless woman. I don’t know how to get bored. I’m always working. As an exclusive, the other day a publisher contacted me to write a book. Now I have more knowledge than I did five years ago, and it’s a proposal I like, although my priority is different.
I try to take care of myself because I’ve been through tough times. I want to find my tools, and I keep changing my strategies.
Good design is the one that helps society. It’s the one that removes barriers. It empowers people. It drives those who have it the hardest to overcome and achieve their goals. And Decedario, Diana Arias’s project, is a magnificent example.
Mª Ángeles Domínguez
