John’s Journey is a practice-based research project, which means the animation itself generates knowledge alongside the written academic work. Every creative decision is grounded in research, and every research finding shapes a creative decision. This post documents where the research currently stands.
Research Question:
The research question remains unchanged from the project proposal:
“How can animation effectively represent identity persistence through dementia’s progression?”
Why This Matters:
Dementia is not a peripheral concern. In Ireland, the HSE (2020) estimates around 64,000 people are currently living with dementia, a figure expected to treble by 2051. Globally, the WHO (2023) puts that figure at 55 million. In the UK, dementia was the leading cause of death in 2023 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2024). The experience of living with, or caring for someone with, dementia crosses borders. John’s Journey is set in the UK but its themes are universal.
Key Literature:
My research draws on six key sources, each contributing a different dimension to the project’s academic framework.
Cahill (2018, 2019, 2021) provides the philosophical foundation. Her human rights framework positions personhood as persisting through cognitive decline, directly challenging what she describes as “tragedy discourse” – the tendency to frame dementia as a complete loss of self. Kitwood (1997, as cited in Cahill, 2021) further argues that decline occurs not only because of brain damage, but because of the erosion of personhood caused by what he called a “malignant social psychology” – the harmful attitudes and language that surround dementia. Both frameworks are central to how John’s Journey tells its story: this is not a film about losing someone. It’s about who remains.
Cai (2024) examines how animation creates emotional resonance in audiences through visual elements, sound, narrative structure, and character design. The research demonstrates that animation evokes empathetic responses through a combination of colour, movement, music, and character analogy, all of which are active decisions in John’s Journey. The colour desaturation progression, the musical score, and the domestic scenes are not stylistic choices made in isolation; they’re grounded in an understanding of how animation creates emotional connection.
Forceville (2025) provides the theoretical basis for the IAM badge as a visual metaphor. His research on symbolic objects in animation demonstrates how a single object can carry sustained metaphorical meaning across a narrative. The decision to keep the badge in full colour throughout a desaturating world isn’t just a striking visual effect, it’s a deliberate metaphor supported by established visual metaphor theory.
Hansen et al. (2024) validates animation as the right medium for this subject matter, demonstrating its effectiveness for health communication. Crucially for this project, Hansen’s research also helped inform the runtime decision. The 3-4 minute length reflects findings on optimal duration for maintaining emotional engagement, a point that was raised during the pitch presentation and one I’m confident is academically supported.
Moe-Byrne et al. (2022) further supports the medium choice, examining animation as an information delivery tool compared to traditional methods, with findings relevant to how John’s Journey might function for audiences with personal connections to dementia.
Gibson et al. (2025) is a recent addition to the literature. This peer-reviewed mixed methods study examined the impact of an animated video as an educational tool for dementia care among general practice nurses, finding that most participants intended to change their clinical practice after viewing. It provides empirical evidence that animation communicates dementia-related messages clearly enough to change behaviour, directly supporting the narrative clarity of John’s Journey.
Research – Design – Evaluation Framework:
Following feedback from my supervisor, I’ve structured my approach around explicit connections between research, design decisions, and evaluation criteria. Each design choice is traceable back to a research rationale, and each evaluation criterion measures whether that rationale has been achieved.
Stakeholders:
My dad is the subject of this animation. As one of his Powers of Attorney, I have the legal standing to make decisions on his behalf regarding his involvement in the project. My mum has given verbal consent and has been involved and supportive throughout – she’s asked staff at my dad’s nursing home to watch the animation when it’s ready for user testing, which means a great deal.
I’ve been in contact with my dad’s social worker, who is aware of the project and will be contacted again as production moves into the testing phase. I reached out to Professor Cahill, whose work is central to my research framework, and intend to follow up having not yet received a response. I also contacted dementia support personnel within the HSE, though I haven’t had responses there either. These things take time, and I’ll keep trying.
User Testing Plan:
Formal user testing will take place post-Alpha, with 10-15 participants recruited through social media, contacts at my dad’s nursing home, and professional connections. The four evaluation criteria above will form the basis of the testing questionnaire – the same framework used in the initial animatic testing, allowing for meaningful comparison between early and late stage responses.
The Alpha won’t be a polished finish, that’s not what Alpha is for; but the core visual language needs to be working: the desaturation, the badge, the emotional arc. That’s what participants will be responding to, and that’s what the research framework is designed to measure.
References:
Alzheimer’s Society, 2024. Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. [online] Available at: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us/dementia-UK-leading-cause-of-death (Accessed: 12 February 2026).
Cahill, S., 2018. Dementia and Human Rights. Bristol: Policy Press.
Cahill, S., 2019. Reframing dementia as a disability and a human rights concern. The Irish Times, [online] 31 December. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/health/reframing-dementia-as-a-disability-and-a-human-rights-concern-1.4125626 (Accessed: 7 November 2025).
Cahill, S., 2021. Personhood, dementia literacy, and the causes and consequences of Alzheimer’s disease fear. International Psychogeriatrics, 33(10), pp.997-999.
Cai, Z., 2024. The emotional impact of animation on its audience. Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies, 52, pp.18-26.
Forceville, C., 2025. Metaphors in Stand Up 2 Cancer animations. Metaphor and the Social World, [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.24035.for (Accessed: 4 February 2026).
Gibson, C., Goeman, D., Pond, D., Yates, M., Hutchinson, A.M. and Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., 2025. Impact of an animated video as an educational tool aimed to improve general practice nurses’ clinical care for people living with dementia: a mixed methods analysis. Nursing Forum, 2025, pp.1-11.
Hansen, S., Jensen, T.S., Schmidt, A.M., Strøm, J., Vistisen, P. and Høybye, M.T., 2024. The effectiveness of video animations as a tool to improve health information recall for patients: systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, p.e58306.
Health Service Executive, 2020. Dementia Pathways. [online] Available at: https://www.hse.ie/eng/dementia-pathways/files/dementia-prevalence-figures-2020.pdf (Accessed: 18 September 2025).
Moe-Byrne, T., Brown, M., Tantero, J., Dwyer, A., McGloin, A. and McSharry, J., 2022. The effectiveness of video animations as information tools for patients and the general public: a systematic review. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, p.1010779.
World Health Organization, 2023. Dementia. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia (Accessed: 5 December 2025).
