Designing for all Abilities (11/9)
Simulation training can build empathy and knowledge of an aging population.
On Monday, our class began with a lecture from Bruce Hanington, where we learned about the aspects of aging and we shared our ideas through various exercises in class. We looked at our perception of age by asking ourselves, when will we become old? What are the signs that our population is aging? Why is this important?
Normal aging is shown signs of wrinkles, thinning/graying of hair, joint stiffening. These are unavoidable changes. Other changes may be due to factors such as disease. Bruce directed us to think more broadly about aging as a relationship between medical issues and psychosocial well-being. A bias that occurs as we grow older is called Age-Associated Memory Impairment. Situations that are perceived to be normal such as forgetting where we parked the car are judged differently due to the age of the driver. Because of this, we may perceive older individuals in a different light and shrug off their predicaments. Instead, we should factor in their views and situations when we design.
When designing for others we can consider experiencing their world through a simulation of the senses to improve our understanding of the users we are designing for. Through sensory simulations, we can understand how our senses change as we age and deepen empathy toward this population, ultimately making better products that will benefit others.
To help aid our thinking, Bruce led us through several activities as a reference on how frustrating aging could be.
A common sign of aging is hearing loss — this affects older people more than any other chronic condition. The exercise covering this section was a hearing test with three sets of readings. The readings got progressively more clear — can you imagine hearing everything like the first set of words? Was the first set of words frustrating to go through?
We moved onto other senses such as taste and smell which can lead to the loss of appetite. Another common sign was tactile sensation and dexterity deficits which resulted in an increased risk of burns and bruising due to the delayed responses to the brain. Aging causes various changes and to understand how they affect the body can lead us to better designs.
Design & Aging
Aging is normal. However, it can create difficulties in daily activities. Because of this, designs should allow for individuals to maintain independence and better experience the constraints of aging.
Bruce shared an example from his own experience of how aging populations are active participants in the design process. Some electronics can be considered too complicated such as a conventional oven with three dials. This complexity and frustration aren’t uncommon and unique to the aging population. Designing with these constraints in mind can benefit not just them but also others.
We concluded the class with some discussion and left some time for group projects. Please remember we have office hours for you to check in! See you all Wednesday.
