Designing For Elders — Through the Lens of UX Design
A personal reflection on questions we should ask ourselves when designing for elders.
Today, I had the privilege to attend an end-of-year showcase event at an elderly daycare center in Taiwan. To provide more background context — it is a nonprofit association that offers free daycare service to local seniors (65+ years old). The center’s mission is to provide a safe space for the elderly to form community, learn new skills, and find joy. At the center, seniors can learn arts & craft, dance and singing, strengthening exercises, different languages and more.
I was truly amazed by the performances and the artwork created by these seniors. Keep in mind that some of these seniors are in their late 80s.
As an UX designer, this experience gave me a lot to think about, especially on the topic of designing for elders. I have summarized my reflection into 3 main points:
1. What we choose NOT to design is equally as important as what we choose to design.
It is easy to create new pixels on the screen. However, we have to realize that whatever we choose to (re)create digitally, we are actually translating or replacing a real life experience. It is important to keep in mind that human interactions are made of hundreds of micro-interactions. As designers, we have to be conscious of these interpersonal connections that we are replacing through our design. For example, we can design a robot that measures blood pressure and other vital signs in a matter of seconds. That sounds great right? Sure — but we need to think about the human element that we are replacing. Perhaps the most important part about this interaction is the conversation between the caregiver/nurse and the elders.
Next, we need to think about the resources and personnels needed to maintain and operate the technology. It is not sustainable or realistic to create a solution for the elders if it can only be operated by tech-savvy people. It can actually become a burden (financially and operationally) to create something that the users don’t know how to use. Worse yet, the organization will need to spend more resources just to use a technology that does not solve any problems. Sometimes, we can create something but it doesn’t mean we should. In certain scenarios, perhaps pen and paper is the best solution. Yes — there is nothing wrong with going old school!
2. Personal interaction is equally as important as digital interactions (if not more important).
A lot of digital solutions today are replacing human interactions. However, there is no algorithm smart and complex enough to replace actual human beings, or at least not yet…. Therefore, we should also spend time to think about how technology and design can assist with personal interactions. If people are spending more time interacting with an app versus interacting with other people, is that really a good thing?
3. Understand what elders really need
It is easy to get sidetracked and start focusing on the technology side of things or trying to create visual masterpiece. However, after interviewing volunteers at the daycare center I found that elders are looking for: companion, conversation, motivation, and sense of purpose. We often overcomplicate a situation when the solution is actually a simple one. Perhaps it is more effective and meaningful to simply spend time with the elders and share a memorable conversation. This human interaction outweighs any app solution that we can create.
Don’t get me wrong, we need technology and design. For example, good design can make medical devices more accurate and efficient, hence saving more lives. However, we should not see it as a final solution to a human problem. They are mediators and tools to facilitate our search for the answer. As designers, we need to be responsible for the pixels that we create. We need to understand human interactions that we are replacing, or displacing, and make a healthy judgement. Perhaps, the best solution is not to design a feature or not to design a new app — and that is ok.
