Integration of the Elderly in the Design Process

K. Schmidt-Ruhland and M. Knigge
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K. Schmidt-Ruhland: University of Art and Design Halle
M. Knigge: Grauwert – Office for Demografically Proven Products and Services

Chapter 8 in The Silver Market Phenomenon, 2008, pp 103-124 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract With demographic change looming in the background there has been an ever greater need for products and aids for the growing target group of elderly people. Previous methods and ideas in the areas of product development and design have not proven to be satisfactory enough to develop attractive and helpful solutions that meet the wishes and needs of this age group. New approaches and product concepts have been developed in the sentha research project, sentha stands for Everyday Technology for Senior Households. Working in this interdisciplinary research project are designers from the Berlin University of the Arts in cooperation with the Technical Universities of Berlin and Cottbus, as well as the Berlin Institute for Social Research. The goal was to develop products and services for an increasingly aging society so that seniors can maintain their independence in daily life as long as possible. At the Institute for Product and Process Design (Prof. Achim Heine) of the Berlin University of the Arts, designers Karin Schmidt-Ruhland and Mathias Knigge have been working on the development and positioning of senior-friendly products and services. In their projects they have focused on specific wishes and needs of elderly people without limiting themselves in form and function solely to this one target group. The article elucidates the specific design approach as regards this user group, the methods for integrating elderly people, and shows a selection of designs that have been realized in the sentha project (Table 8.1).

Keywords: Elderly People; User Group; Participatory Observation; Elderly User; Senior Citizen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-75331-5_8

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