The Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) have published a blog exploring the topic of Trompe l’oeil (French for ‘deceive the eye’). This is an artistic term, often associated with painting, that tricks the viewer into perceiving painted objects or spaces as real.
DSDC have highlighted this technique as inappropriate within care home environments for people with dementia, saying:
“DSDC’s Fundamentals for Dementia Aware design include promoting ability, maintaining independence and being familiar. Designs which include trompe l’oeil which essentially deceives the eye, as per the definition of the term, should therefore not be used in environments that are used by people with dementia who are already trying to work hard to make sense of a space without the added confusion of optical illusions.”
Read the full blog here: https://www.dementia.stir.ac.uk/newsblog/trompe-loeil