The importance of starting to design for ageing
According to the 2018 Ageing report that Público reinforces, only 4.2 million people will be of working age (2), and so we are moving towards a new paradigm.
Part of the guide Design for Health
Some say that growing old is the best thing that can happen to us (1), yet there is a clear marginalisation and segregation of the senior population in society.
As well as the negative connotations we associate with ‘old’, ‘elderly’ and ‘third age’ from an early age.
None of us wants to be old, let alone called old. Talk to my 82-year-old grandmother who says she’s not old.
We associate being old with being bad, being put aside, having lots of health problems and ending up in a care home. But does it have to be this way?
By 2070, Portugal will only have 4.2 million people of working age
According to the 2018 Ageing report that Público reinforces, only 4.2 million people will be of working age (2), and so we are moving towards a new paradigm.
The stigma of existing solutions
Growing old is linked to the stigma created by society. Today’s solutions, whether they’re mobility solutions like walkers or something else, scream old age. They are usually products that nobody wants to use because they are linked to stigma.
We need to innovate for new solutions that add more value and are desired not only by the senior population, but by everyone who needs them.
We can create a walker so incredible that maybe even young people won’t have any stigma about using it as a portable chair that they can take to socialise in the street with friends or to a concert with long hours of standing.
Interface Design
Best practices for designing interfaces for seniors are also part of human-centred design and therefore shouldn’t be news to many. However, it’s always worth reinforcing:
Make use of progressive disclosure. This age group is especially vulnerable to failures in episodic and working memory. We should introduce new options and functionalities gradually.
-
One task per screen, high contrast and legible fonts.
-
Give the clearest possible feedback on progress and interaction.
-
Promote reminders for habitual actions.
-
Use subtitles for all videos.
-
Don’t use text on top of images.
-
Avoid using iconography on its own.
-
Due to the loss of attention common at these ages, we also need to be as explicit as possible.
Beyond Interfaces
Working in this area goes beyond interface design. It includes architecture, politics, public transport, services and new access. There is a whole world to be explored and made accessible so that we can prolong active ageing for as long as possible.
It’s also important to emphasise that we want to create products that are inclusive and as such don’t scream old age, prejudice or stigma. Products that can be used by everyone to improve their quality of life because “the world is getting older and there is nothing more modern than getting old” (3).
To go deeper: the Design for Health guide, Accessibility beyond contrast on the layers of accessibility, and Patient care journeys on mapping the path of people with chronic conditions.
