Shaping the Phenomenon

Today 10,000Americans will turn

65 years old.

Areas of Focus

1) Aging in Place 2) Technology Engagement 3) Design for All Ages 4) Cultural Imaging

Aging in Place

“ 90% of people want to grow old in their home and community”

Grass-roots “villages” have evolved across the country to help seniors stay at home in urban and suburban cities

Run by volunteers and paid staff through Village to Village Network

Largely “funded by grants and membership fees to provide services”

“Beacon Hill Village in Boston was the first in the movement, created by residents in 2001.”

The Villages Movement

AARP and Village to Village Network

Aging in Place

Highest Ranked States: 1) Florida 2) West Virginia 3) Maine 4) Pennsylvania 5) Iowa

Lowest Ranked States: 46) Colorado 47) Georgia 48) Texas 49) Utah 50) Alaska

Senior Population by State

U.S. Census Bureau (2010)

The Villages, FL

Aging in Place

Highest Ranked States: 1) Minnesota 2) Vermont 3) New Hampshire 4) Massachusetts 5) Iowa

Lowest Ranked States: 46) Arkansas 47) West Virginia 48) Louisiana 49) Oklahoma 50) Mississippi

United Health Foundation

Health of American Seniors by State

USA Today

Technology Engagement

“As of April 2012, 53 percent of American adults

age 65 and older use the Internet or email,

marking the first time data has shown

more than half of U.S. seniors are going online.”

“As of 2012, [there are] 19 million American seniors on the Internet, for a growth rate of

16% per year throughout this decade.”

Pew Internet & American Life Project and Nielsen Norman Group

Apple.com

Technology Engagement

“As of February 2012, 34 percent of internet users age 65 and older use social networking sites.”

“As of August 2011, 86 percent of internet users age 65 and older use email.”

“Some 69 percent of adults ages 65 and older report that they have a mobile phone.”

Pew Internet & American Life Project

Technology Engagement

“Users age 65 and older are 43% slower at using websites than users age 21–55.”

“Our new user research shows that current websites still discriminate against seniors. By embracing web design that’s more suited for older users, sites can vastly expand the amount of business they generate from this population.”

–Jakob Nielsen

Nielsen Norman Group

Internet Usability Issues

Design For All Ages

As seniors age, everyday places, products and services do not best serve their needs

Quality designs can “promote graceful aging, softens the impact of the aging process…and enhances quality of life for all”

Designing for all ages “increases usability, safety and health of environments, products and systems in response to the diversity of people and abilities”

Transgenerational.org and UniversalDesign.com

Overview

Design For All Ages: Partner

IDeA Center—Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access at Buffalo University is “dedicated to making environments and products more usable, safer and healthier in response to the needs of an increasingly diverse population,” based in philosophy of Universal Design

Edward Steinfeld—founder of the Center, co-author of principles of Universal Design, architect and Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, wrote two books

Amazon.comIDeA Center and UniversalDesign.com

Key Insights

Universal Design—“process of embedding choice for all people in the things we design” by creating “environments, products, and services that will be easier for all people to use, regardless of their abilities, age or current state of health” Ronald L. Mace—founder and former program director of The Center for

Universal Design at North Carolina State University, died in 1998

7 design principles: Equitable Use, Flexibility in Use, Simple and Intuitive Use, Perceptible Information, Tolerance for Error, Low Physical Effort, Size and Space for Approach and Use

IDeA Center and UniversalDesign.com

Key Insights

UniversalDesign.com—partners with Universal Design Summit, IDeA Center, Institute for Human Centered Design and AARP, product of the IDeA Center staff, “serves as a platform for collaborative activities and timely dissemination of information”

Universal Designers & Consultants, Inc.—“an architectural accessibility consulting firm and world-class expert in Universal Design and accessibility compliance”

—“provide consulting services to [businesses] wanting to improve customer access and make their establishments compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act”

IDeA Center and UniversalDesign.com

Design For All Ages: Partner

Transgenerational.org—concept and website recognized by AARP, the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) and several manufacturers including Black and Decker and Cuisinart

James Pirkl—Syracuse University industrial design emeritus professor, coined the term and concept of “transgenerational design in 1986, wrote three books

Transgenerational.orgAmazon.com

Key Insights

Transgenerational Design—“the practice of making products and environments compatible with those physical and sensory impairments associated with human aging and which limit major activities of daily living.”

7 design principles: Safety, Comfort, Convenience, Ease of Use, Ergonomic Fit, Suitability, User Value

Transgenerational.org

Key Insights

Transgenerational Design Matters—“a private educational, research, and advocacy organization”

—“a design consultancy for the 50+ market, and has been described as a ‘key figure in universal design’ by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum.”

“More than just functional design accommodation…[transgenerational design] also considers the users' individuality, aesthetic sensitivity, social stature, and self respect.”

Transgenerational.org and Syracuse University Library

Design For All Ages

Senior Spaces—creates spaces in public libraries across the country for seniors to interact and connect, founded by Allan Kleiman with the American Library Association

Partners for Livable Communities—“a national nonprofit organization working to restore and renew the communities we work and live in” through trainings, conferences and research publications

Partners for Livable Communities and AARP

Other Partners

Cultural Imaging

Seniors “routinely perceive themselves seven to ten years younger than they are”

“The elderly increasingly exhibit a trend toward ‘gray pride’—a positive identification with their age and away from the negative stereotype.”

“Senior consumers no longer see themselves as 'old', but instead see age as a badge of honor.”

PepsiCo’s Center for Human Understanding, Association for Consumer Research and Reuters

Overview

Cultural Imaging: Partner

Stanford Center on Longevity—their mission is “to redesign long life. The Center studies the nature and development of the human life span, looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50 and improve the well-being of people of all ages.”

Laura Carstensen—founding director of the Center and professor of psychology at Stanford University, wrote A Long Bright Future

Stanford Center on LongevityAmazon.com

Key Insights

“Older people are the only natural resource in the world that is actually growing.”

—Laura Carstensen, PhD

The Work Being Done: “the Center works with academic experts, business leaders and policy makers to target important challenges and opportunities for aging societies. By fostering dialogue and collaboration among these typically disconnected worlds, the Center aims to develop workable solutions to urgent issues confronting the world as the population ages.”

Stanford Center on Longevity

Key Insights

Redesigning Long Life

Cultural Imaging

“Losing a bit of your independence by getting help from others doesn’t have to equate with becoming a devalued and marginalized member of society.”

—Michelle Barnhart

“Everybody ages, you can’t stop that. But what we can do is respond to someone’s limitations in a way that preserves dignity and value.”

—Michelle Barnhart

Changing Culture

The Examiner