[Alyson Kuhn] Today, I will wear the t-shirt designed at Joey’s Corner for the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada. The globe of type presents statistics about Alzheimer’s in our world and in our lifetime. I recently spoke with Bill Fisher, the chapter’s executive director, about the role of design in raising awareness about the disease. Here are some of his observations.
“For the Alzheimer’s Association, the challenge is to take a disease that is difficult to confront – studies tell us Alzheimer’s is the second most feared disease – and make it easier for people to look at and not turn away from. We need to find ways to talk about Alzheimer’s that don’t cause people to look at their shoes.”
“Joey’s Corner creates the visual identity for our annual Memory Walk® on Treasure Island. Of the over 600 walks across the country, ours has grown to be the largest. It is the first – and, so far, only – Walk to have raised over $1 million, and we’ve achieved that level twice! Michael had designed t-shirts, buttons, and posters for us for several years before founding Joey’s Corner. The button from each year’s walk has become a collectible. Many people display their buttons from multiple years on their caps or jackets as badges of honor. This helps us create a sense of community important to our work.”
“The sweet spot for me is around advocacy. Memory Walk is that opportunity for people to come together and do something active and positive and have some fun at the same time. The materials Joey’s Corner creates for us do a great job of combining advocacy and attractive graphics, of making people feel empowered to make a difference. The graphics catch people’s attention and deliver a positive message.”
The positive message on the t-shirt I will wear today is just below the globe: Our destination is a world without Alzheimer’s. However, the statistics on my shirt went up this morning. Alzheimer’s Disease International released their latest figures today, revising upward the 2010 projection to 35 million and the 2050 projection to 115 million.
Alyson Kuhn, the editor of Felt & Wire, hopes to write about caring for people with dementia. She will walk on Treasure Island next month.
