@theretheirtheyreshow @ba.design.gold
18-22 JUNE 2026
Unit 8, 133 Copeland Rd, London, SE15 3SN
Unit 8, 133 Copeland Rd, London, SE15 3SN
The Cost of a Cake
Ella Smith
After a phone call with my recently widowed grandmother (Henrietta), I realised how all-consuming her perceived incompetence is, and how this has snowballed to cause complete isolation and loss of independence in her old age.
“The Cost of a Cake” takes a seemingly enjoyable and simple daily task (baking a cake) and breaks down its components to examine how interactions with poor, generalised design can have a detrimental effect on a person’s quality of life. From beginning to end, the act of baking a cake presents many moments of friction for Henrietta and other older people like her.
This project highlights to an able-bodied, younger audience the subtle difficulties an older body and mind, such as Henrietta’s, would face when baking a cake. Beyond this, it shows how repeated exposure to poor design in everyday tasks can erode an older person’s confidence in their own abilities, ultimately contributing to isolation and a broader loss of self-assurance.
“The Cost of a Cake” takes a seemingly enjoyable and simple daily task (baking a cake) and breaks down its components to examine how interactions with poor, generalised design can have a detrimental effect on a person’s quality of life. From beginning to end, the act of baking a cake presents many moments of friction for Henrietta and other older people like her.
This project highlights to an able-bodied, younger audience the subtle difficulties an older body and mind, such as Henrietta’s, would face when baking a cake. Beyond this, it shows how repeated exposure to poor design in everyday tasks can erode an older person’s confidence in their own abilities, ultimately contributing to isolation and a broader loss of self-assurance.
Empathy
Immersion
Ageing
Thanks, Thanks, Thanks