Putting beauty before age

Preferences, not prosthetics, should be a designer's main concernwhen thinking up new products aimed at older users, the experts tellKARLIN LILLINGTON

HOW DO you design a technology product for older users? By never,ever referencing the fact that the product incorporates featuresthat might suit an older user, says design guru Gus Desbarats fromdesign consultancy the Alloy in the UK.

"You do not ever, ever target stuff at 'the old'. It's never tobe used in marketing, it's only to work out the practical needs ofyour market," he told a seminar at the annual Business of Agingconference in Dublin recently.

As an example, he pinpoints the mobile phones targeted at theolder user, with large keypads and simplified features.

One of the most beloved and popular handsets of all time was theNokia 6310, he notes, a simple handset no longer made by the companybut which many people still buy on eBay and hoard. Stephen Fry andJeremy Clarkson are two well-known enthusiasts.

The 6310, because of its simple design, is a great handset forolder users, but was never marketed as such, and appealed to all.

By contrast, these days, Desbarats says, older people tend to be"offered patronising phones" with gigantic buttons marketed to "theelderly".

He notes: "A mobile phone is an expression of you. Those otherphones say, 'I have given up'."

So how does a good designer approach the issue? By designing withthe older user in mind, but prioritising an emotionally appealing,beautifully designed product that can appeal to all ages.

A flip-factor phone can be great for an older user because largerbuttons can be hidden away, he notes. And the iPhone uses softwareas an approach, he says - the keypad on an iPhone is actually verylarge and easy to use, but in no way does the iPhone shout "olderuser".

Good designers might see hearing aids not as clumsy-lookingindicators of a disability but as an opportunity to design a productfor "cool hearing augmentation".

Why not incorporate ambient amplification, a music player, and awireless headset for use with that age-neutral phone?

A good designer should aim for "preferences, not prosthetics";offering such a hearing aid is an example of separating image from apractical approach. Better user interfaces should be a priority forolder users, but every issue highlighted by Desbarats applies aswell to any user of technology, signalling how good design isrelevant to all.

"PC ownership is just one of the worst consumer experiences onthe planet," he says.

So is using e-mail, setting up a home network, using mostwebsites, doing most device upgrades, and, he adds, "just about allconsumer electronics".

Getting technology right opens up a huge market opportunity: goodtechnology resolves many social exclusion issues that have to dowith mobility. "Technology is a key piece of social glue."

David Sinclair, head of policy and research for the InternationalLongevity Centre in the UK, agrees. "The PC is very cumbersome andhard to use. It's not intuitive - for example you use the startbutton to turn it off."

Perhaps this is one reason why older people are less likely to goonline - fewer of the over-50s are online in Ireland than inBritain, he says in an interview after his keynote talk. But thismarket is wealthier than younger age groups, and so has greaterpotential to buy products and use online services.

"We might need to look at other ways to bring older people ontothe net - for example, smart phones, TVs, and tablet computers."

What could really change things, he says, is touchscreens, asthey tend to be far more intuitive and eliminate the need to use amouse, a peripheral device that can be confusing for many olderpeople.

Older people also have "huge issues around trust that affecttheir willingness to buy online".

Yet, as he says: "Technology has really exciting potential forolder people. We need to overcome the challenges, and design well."

Many speakers at the event emphasised the business opportunitythat industry still seems largely to ignore.

"Baby-boomers have absolutely no intention of sitting back anddoing nothing. They expect to go out and spend their money," notesglobal futurist Anne Lise Kjaer.

Technology and online services offer "huge opportunity" forlearning (for example, via free TED.org talks), "constantly creatingnew communities" (using Skype or Facebook), facilitating good health(using Nintendo brain gymnastics, or Groupon for gadgets and mobilesecurity).

She notes that a quarter of Facebook users are aged over 45,which marks a significant shift in the past five years.

Statistics from a survey of 500 older consumers in Irelandpresented by Amarach Consulting in Dublin confirm that older usersare online in increasing numbers and that many are quite activelyusing online services. Some 38 per cent say they use the internet,with slightly more users in Dublin than other parts of the State.

The main website they visit is Google (38 per cent), followed byFacebook (19 per cent), then Ryanair, RTE.com and MSN/Hotmail.

For secondary websites, they cite banking services,Aerlingus.com, eBay, Yahoo, DoneDeal, YouTube and Irishtimes.com.

Of those who go online at least every two to three months, 80 percent use e-mail, 37 per cent use Skype and 29 per cent use Facebook.Five per cent are on Twitter, 4 per cent on LinkedIn and 2 percentblog.

But take a tip from the conference: don't call them "silversurfers".