Meeting the needs of older and disabled consumers
Guidelines for product design and testing
(view report contents)
Why design for all is important
Domestic products are designed for people to use. Addressing the needs of older and disabled people in product design will make them usable by more people, and open up new market opportunities for manufacturers. Europe has an ageing population. Here's the proof that there is an increasing market for products which are designed for all.
"Young able bodied people should not think they are designing for disabled people, but for their future selves"
INCLUDE, an EC project
Demography
This is no longer a niche market. Current Eurostat statistics show that there are over 375 million people in the 15 countries of the European Union. Over 77 million - 20 per cent, or one in five - are 60 years of age or more.
Statistics on disability are less straight forward, because collection methods and definitions vary between countries. Work published by the COST 219 project estimated the numbers of disabled people, with an age breakdown, in 1995 in the 12 EU states - before Austria, Finland and Sweden joined. They indicated a population of some 37 million disabled people, of whom over 25 million - 70 per cent - were aged 60 or more.
It is well documented that both the number of older people is increasing and their proportion in the total population. This is due to decline in the birth rate, increase in life expectancy and a decrease in mortality rates at higher ages. Eurostat predicts that most EU regions will see the number of older people (60 years and over) double by 2030. A further Eurostat prediction is that the proportion of people aged 80 and over, currently 4 per cent of the European population, will soar to 10 per cent by 2050. As well as the incidence of disability increasing with age, so does the severity of impairments.
"Universal design is important to all society ... it allows end users to be fully considered in the design process whether they are disabled or able bodied" Susan Hewer, RSA
The majority of people with disabilities have minor impairments. For example, far more people walk with difficulty than use wheelchairs; far more people use spectacles for reading than are blind or partially sighted. By addressing the needs of more severely disabled people, standard makers and manufacturers will increase the usefulness of products for people with minor impairments.
The majority of people with disabilities are elderly. As the proportion of older people grows, so will the number of people with disabilities. Add to this the fact that the vast majority of older people live in private households. Those who also remain economically independent will spend money on products that meet their needs. They form an increasingly significant market for domestic products made to design for all principles.
"Consumers with special needs constitute a major (and growing) part of the European population. Still products and services pose barriers to these people mostly in terms of safety and accessibility" ANEC
Consumer benefits
Wider choice for older and disabled people
European high streets and shopping malls are full of wide ranges of domestic products - say 20 washing machines to choose from, over a hundred telephones. But older people with stiff fingers and poor sight will find that most of those products will have one or more features that make them difficult to use. So their choice is severely restricted.
If products were designed for all, consumers would save money because mainstream goods are more competitively priced than specialist equipment and adaptation. Where aids are supplied by social services, there is a public finance benefit too. For the individual, greater use of mainstream products also removes the stigma of needing aids to live independently.
"Considering the needs of disabled and elderly people in the design process adds value to products, services and systems by accommodating the broadest range of users possible" Presence, an EC project 1997-1999
Benefits for all
Features which make a product accessible to older and disabled people generally make it easier to use for everyone else.
We all get older. Our needs change with age eg hearing, vision, mobility and strength impairments are common to the ageing process. Products designed for all continue to be usable into our old age.
Anyone can have special needs at any time in their life - using things and getting around in the dark when the lights fail, dealing with a product one handed when the other hand is holding a child or otherwise busy, being slowed down with a broken leg. Well designed products will be easy to use in difficult circumstances.
Benefits for industry
Consumer organisations are well established in Europe, and influential. Middle aged people have become discerning consumers, demanding products that perform well, are convenient to use and are attractive. Manufacturers have responded to that challenge. Now they have the opportunity to respond to a changing market place, one in which increased numbers of older consumers are forming a significant buying force. Improving usability for the widest range of people expands the customer base and so increases marketability.
Improving usability does not have to increase production costs. It can cost nothing if considered at the design phase
"It is time to move from the margin to the mainstream" Roger Coleman, RCA
Report Contents
Introduction
Why design for all is important
Using
research to identify needs - the basic toolkit
Product group checklists
- washing machines
- tumble driers
- vacuum cleaners
- microwave ovens
- electric irons
- electric kettles
- toasters
- food preparation machines
- telephones
- cars
The practical principles of design for all
What can be done to raise awareness
Useful contacts
