The delft design for end of life lab

Abstract

In the future, medical technology will prolong our lives significantly, thereby changing our perspectives on death and dying, and will question the quality of life in its final stage. It might well be that we not only prolong life, but the dying process as well. More and more, people will need to make decisions about how they envision their end of life. The Delft Design for End-of-Life lab addresses these questions from a design perspective: how could design support the quality of life in its final stage, and how could design support people in preparing for that final stage and communicating about it? And more in general: how could design contribute to death awareness and literacy in our societies? This paper introduces the different aspects of End-of-Life care as a foundation for the Delft Design for End-of-Life Lab, describes the lab illustrated with several design examples, and concludes with the lessons learned from Design for End-of-Life that may be relevant for other domains of design.