Design as care, care as design: person-centered care tools for nonverbal personhood
Amber De Coen, Sanne Nieuwenhuis, Evelien Coppens, Niels Hendriks, Andrea J. Wilkinson · Design for Health · 2026
Person-centered care is widely adopted in care practices, yet practical tools for its daily implementation remain scarce, especially for nonverbal persons, such as those with late-stage dementia or profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. This article presents the development of the Blink. Toolkit, a practical tool designed to help carers access, record, and share nonverbal, personhood-related knowledge in situated, accessible, and reflective ways. Developed through six case studies in professional care settings, the toolkit builds on four exploratory studies using interdisciplinary (design) research methods that engaged with the tacit and embodied dimensions of personhood. The resulting prototype, created from these insights and from sharing them with carers and family, includes activity cards that prompt carers to observe and respond to moments of connection, and a personalized booklet for recording these insights over time. Rather than replacing existing routines, the toolkit reframes them, supporting reflection and recognition within daily care. By translating design research into material care practices, this article contributes to the implementation of PCC and the growing field of design for care. It concludes with design strategies for engaging with nonverbal personhood, grounded in multisensory and relational approaches, offering a way to encounter rather than define personhood.