Designing a digital home for older people

The silver pound

The simple fact is that people are living longer. Seniors and those with impairments make up a greater proportion of the population and this means that the market for products specifically designed for impaired seniors is vast. Common impairments to sight, hearing, mobility and memory affect everyday life for 45% of everyone over 75 and these people will make up 25% of the UK’s population within ten years. To design for this market a number of considerations have to be understood so that the real needs of the older consumer are catered to.

Age-related physical impairments enter many facets of a person’s life and are to a greater or lesser extent detrimental to their wellbeing. However, it is not just about quality of life, the difference between good and bad design has important health implications too. Weakening of the joints and bones in later life means that good ergonomic design is vital to avoid injury caused by using household equipment over the course of a day.

This paper will investigate how technology can be designed to help the aged do what they used to do without fuss, and immeasurably improve their lives in the process. Whether reading a book, speaking to a relative or simply making it to the phone before it stops ringing, it is the little things that can really make a difference.

Key factors in design

As we get older we experience more and more difficulty in doing the things we enjoy and are used to doing.

Research into the characteristics of the elderly have revealed key drivers and servicing needs. To really cater to the requirements of the seniors market these issues have to be addressed.

One of the key design considerations for elderly consumers is price, ie the product has to be affordable. In addition, research has found that elderly consumers do not wish to draw attention to any impairment they may have, so demand their products fit in with their daily lives and not draw attention to themselves.

Finally, research reveals that the most important thing on seniors’ minds is the maintenance of their social network and staying in touch with their loved ones. Therefore any tool that can help this communication process is of vital importance to the elderly. Coming in a close second is reading newspapers and books and watching television. For those with impaired vision these simple joys can become increasingly fraught.

Very few mainstream consumer electronics companies are designing products for this increasingly important market sector. It would pay for UK designers to remember the power of the “Silver Pound”.

Five steps to designing to the silver surfer standard

1. Simplicity

Maintaining simplicity is vital in designing for the elderly. While certainly not Luddites, seniors are not the most tech savvy consumers and find excess functionality a chore and difficult to get to grips with.

An example of simple design that helps avoid unnecessary confusion is the world’s simplest mobile phone from Doro, the Swedish consumer electronics manufacturer. The company has created a GSM mobile with only seven large, clearly defined buttons, a dialling/answer, disconnect and five memory buttons. The handset can be used with any service provider and ensures that elderly consumers always have a communications tool at hand to get in touch with their five key contacts, whether it is in an emergency or to just chat.

Even the simplest things can have a big impact on the quality of life for many seniors. The excess functionality on many remote controls is  confusing and unnecessary. A universal remote with a comfortable, ergonomically designed grip, only the keys necessary for normal operation, and that works with more than one device, can reduce confusion for the elderly and ensure they do not miss their favourite programmes.

2. Ergonomic design

Good ergonomic design is vital to ensure that repetitive strain injury and damage to musculature and brittle bones does not result from the elderly and infirm using a gadget. Industrial designer Professor Maria Benktzon has worked at the celebrated Swedish design firm, Ergonomidesign, for over 35 years. She has used her experience of designing for markets as varied as aeronautics and catering to ensure that products are lightweight and well fitting.

Currently there is a trend among many technology companies to place weights in their handsets in order to make them feel more luxurious and expensive. However this means that the elderly are discriminated against in order to cater to a consumer fad. This excess weight can negatively impact their quality of life.

Much of Doro’s Care range, designed by Ergonomidesign, is built from the ground up to be lightweight with seniors in mind. The handsets are created to be easy to grab hold of and replace, ensuring those with arthritis can stay in touch with friends and family without discomfort and pain. Even the keypad is easy to reach on the products; the user’s arm can be supported at the table level, while the numbers are typed in.

3. “The three Bs”

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has classified that the three Bs: bigger, brighter and bolder, are key for those wishing to design products for the partially sighted or severely sight impaired. A large legible keypad with high contrast numbers is the minimum necessary when considering the needs of the partially sighted. In addition, displays, such as on a phone, should be large with high-contrast, with the facility that the display can be reversed (black figures on a white background and white figures on a black background) also recommended.

By following the three Bs designers can ensure that their products are tailored specifically for an increasingly demanding market sector.

4. The little things

Even the smallest aspects of a product’s design can have a great impact upon its usage in the hands of an elderly or impaired person. For example, arthritis and loss of sensation exacerbate dexterity problems. Often seniors cannot feel when they are pressing the tiny buttons on many modern phones. With this in mind, Ergonomidesign and Doro developed a range of phones with large concave buttons; meaning fingers are less likely to slip off. In addition it is not just about the size of the buttons on a phone, but the gaps in between can be just as important, this ensures the wrong button is not pressed by mistake.

Other considerations must revolve around the needs of other people in the house, as often the elderly consumer will be living with a younger carer. For example, what if the carer needs to use a phone specifically designed for those hard of hearing members of the house, their hearing could be damaged by the high decibel levels. Therefore designers have to think about easy-to-use ringer volume and receiver volume to suit everyone's individual needs.

5. Start from the ground up

Hearing aid compatibility has to be built into both corded and DECT phones from the ground up as the radio frequency emitted from the back of handsets interferes with most modern hearing aids.

Doro found that a number of their elderly users would have to take off their hearing aid in order to answer the phone and once the conversation was over they would forget to put it back on again. Phone conversation using a hearing aid is not easy. The microphone is on top of the ear and not where the receiver is and touching the hearing aid with the phone generates a lot of noise. Obviously this was unacceptable and detrimental to their lifestyle.

To solve this serious problem Doro created a headset specifically for hearing aid users to connect directly into their range of Care communication devices. Instead of a normal receiver, a hook placed close to the hearing aid transfers the sound and interference is nullified using magnetic coils.

A ringer indicator is also vital for many seniors who cannot always hear the phone ringing. Bright lights that reflect off household surfaces are yet another vital indicator for those hard of hearing.

Conclusion

Successful design for the elderly and impaired is about inclusion and simplicity. The elderly do not like complicated products and superfluous functionality. Planning in advance to cater to elderly users' diverse needs while still ensuring that the price point is right is a delicate balance. Get it right, though, and life for the elderly can be immeasurably improved.

Chris Millington, Managing Director, Doro UK.