Designing Age-Inclusive Products: Guidelines And Best Practices<\/h1>\nMichal Halperin Ben Zvi<\/address>\n 2023-07-18T12:00:00+00:00
\n 2024-05-01T16:05:07+00:00
\n <\/header>\n
Why is it so important to take into account older adults? One person in eight on the planet is over 60, and they are more online than ever. Approximately one billion people aged 60+<\/a> are alive today. Most of them are healthy and active and have discretionary income. Moreover, it is growing faster than any other age group and is projected to be 20% of the world\u2019s population (~2 billion people) by 2050. They are also the fastest-growing category of e-commerce shoppers<\/a>.<\/p>\nOlder people today are adopting technology more than ever before<\/a>. From the use of the Internet, smartphones, tablets, and wearables to smart TVs and speakers, a growing number of older people are users. Ownership of smartphones, for example, increased from 70% to 77% among the 50+ population in the United States between 2017 and 2021. Moreover, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant rise in older adults\u2019 motivation to use digital technology.<\/p>\nHowever, many older people still lack sufficient Internet connectivity or technological skill to use devices and consume digital services. It is estimated that two in five feel technology is not designed for them<\/a> (PDF).<\/p>\nOpportunity To Integrate Older people Into The Digital World<\/h3>\n
More and more aspects of life are conducted on digital platforms: interpersonal communication, banking, healthcare, personal consumption, and exercising one\u2019s rights are just some of them. Therefore, digital platforms that are challenging to use for older people have a negative impact on their quality of life<\/strong>. It prevents them from accessing essential services and integrating equally into society.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\nAccording to the inclusive design approach, one should take into account the needs of as many users as possible without stigmatizing or excluding a specific group by designing niche products.<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n <\/p>\n
\n\n \u201c<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nIf you adopt this principle, you can design a digital platform that serves a wide range of people, not just those aged 65+. Usually, a service that meets the needs of people aged 65+ will serve other audiences as well.<\/p>\n
Adopting Age-appropriate Navigation And Orientation Practices<\/h3>\n
Advancing age can also bring with it a decrease in the rate of information processing, whether in understanding, thinking, or remembering. Plus, the ability to ignore distractions, focus on one stimulus, and perform several complex actions simultaneously also decreases.<\/p>\n
Additionally, due to their age, some suffer from a decrease in executive functions that enable planning, executing, and delaying reactions. Therefore, there is a higher chance they will perform random actions such as clicking on unintended places, closing pages, or making errors when using apps. Some may have difficulty understanding that icons carry the same meaning across different apps or in dealing with situations that do not correspond with their expectations of the digital world. Despite such difficulties, it is essential to stress that the ability to learn from feedback<\/strong> \u2014 for example, via affirmations \u2014 does not diminish with age<\/strong>.<\/p>\nWhat Should We Do If We Want To Increase Their Engagement?<\/h2>\n
Here are a few guidelines to help you design a more inclusive product. Those guidelines can increase the usage of younger users but are highly crucial for older users:<\/p>\n
Minimize The Number Of Required Actions And Create Shortcuts<\/h3>\n
Some people over 65 find it challenging to cope with information overload and multiple options.<\/p>\n
Proper information architecture and hierarchy will indicate what is important to the user and require less effort. We should ensure that the required actions appear immediately and easily so that the user does not have to search for them. Some important ones to mention are white space, content placement, space, language, number of actions, and others. Below are these and some others listed with explanations:<\/p>\n
\n- White space<\/strong>
\nReducing the number of elements on a screen, increasing the spacing between them, and retaining whitespace will make the screen feel less crowded and, therefore, clearer and more inviting. The added value is in the feeling of simplicity it creates. This improves the user\u2019s sense of competence and ability to focus. Clear typography following one of the established typographic scales is relevant for websites, apps, and complex data systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n The Bank of America website has a lot of visual elements that can be overwhelming and may make it difficult for users to feel competent and focused. (Large preview<\/a>)
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n The homepage of the Silicon Valley bank website has been streamlined to make it easier for users to access their accounts by reducing the number of elements on the page. (Large preview<\/a>)
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n- Dialog box<\/strong>
\nA limited number of options prevents cognitive overload. Therefore, conduct a careful mapping of the digital platform, distilling out the most important actions and contents.<\/li>\n- Central placement<\/strong>
\nThe most important themes should be positioned at the center of the screen.<\/li>\n- Large & spacious<\/strong>
\nThe most important buttons should be enlarged and positioned prominently to allow immediate recognition.<\/li>\n- Clear language<\/strong>
\nTopics should be clearly labeled, and the labels should be verified in usability testing. Complicated terms should be avoided since they might not be familiar to the target audience.<\/li>\n- Limited number of actions<\/strong>
\nThe number of steps (clicks and scrolls) necessary to achieve a goal should be minimized.<\/li>\n- Shortcuts and multiple\/redundant paths<\/strong>
\nMake it easy for users to reach their goals by providing multiple options, such as Quick Links, as seen in the example below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\n 2024-05-01T16:05:07+00:00
\n <\/header>\n
Older people today are adopting technology more than ever before<\/a>. From the use of the Internet, smartphones, tablets, and wearables to smart TVs and speakers, a growing number of older people are users. Ownership of smartphones, for example, increased from 70% to 77% among the 50+ population in the United States between 2017 and 2021. Moreover, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant rise in older adults\u2019 motivation to use digital technology.<\/p>\n However, many older people still lack sufficient Internet connectivity or technological skill to use devices and consume digital services. It is estimated that two in five feel technology is not designed for them<\/a> (PDF).<\/p>\n More and more aspects of life are conducted on digital platforms: interpersonal communication, banking, healthcare, personal consumption, and exercising one\u2019s rights are just some of them. Therefore, digital platforms that are challenging to use for older people have a negative impact on their quality of life<\/strong>. It prevents them from accessing essential services and integrating equally into society.<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n According to the inclusive design approach, one should take into account the needs of as many users as possible without stigmatizing or excluding a specific group by designing niche products.<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n If you adopt this principle, you can design a digital platform that serves a wide range of people, not just those aged 65+. Usually, a service that meets the needs of people aged 65+ will serve other audiences as well.<\/p>\n Advancing age can also bring with it a decrease in the rate of information processing, whether in understanding, thinking, or remembering. Plus, the ability to ignore distractions, focus on one stimulus, and perform several complex actions simultaneously also decreases.<\/p>\n Additionally, due to their age, some suffer from a decrease in executive functions that enable planning, executing, and delaying reactions. Therefore, there is a higher chance they will perform random actions such as clicking on unintended places, closing pages, or making errors when using apps. Some may have difficulty understanding that icons carry the same meaning across different apps or in dealing with situations that do not correspond with their expectations of the digital world. Despite such difficulties, it is essential to stress that the ability to learn from feedback<\/strong> \u2014 for example, via affirmations \u2014 does not diminish with age<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Here are a few guidelines to help you design a more inclusive product. Those guidelines can increase the usage of younger users but are highly crucial for older users:<\/p>\n Some people over 65 find it challenging to cope with information overload and multiple options.<\/p>\n Proper information architecture and hierarchy will indicate what is important to the user and require less effort. We should ensure that the required actions appear immediately and easily so that the user does not have to search for them. Some important ones to mention are white space, content placement, space, language, number of actions, and others. Below are these and some others listed with explanations:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n <\/a>Opportunity To Integrate Older people Into The Digital World<\/h3>\n
\n
Adopting Age-appropriate Navigation And Orientation Practices<\/h3>\n
What Should We Do If We Want To Increase Their Engagement?<\/h2>\n
Minimize The Number Of Required Actions And Create Shortcuts<\/h3>\n
\n
\nReducing the number of elements on a screen, increasing the spacing between them, and retaining whitespace will make the screen feel less crowded and, therefore, clearer and more inviting. The added value is in the feeling of simplicity it creates. This improves the user\u2019s sense of competence and ability to focus. Clear typography following one of the established typographic scales is relevant for websites, apps, and complex data systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\nA limited number of options prevents cognitive overload. Therefore, conduct a careful mapping of the digital platform, distilling out the most important actions and contents.<\/li>\n
\nThe most important themes should be positioned at the center of the screen.<\/li>\n
\nThe most important buttons should be enlarged and positioned prominently to allow immediate recognition.<\/li>\n
\nTopics should be clearly labeled, and the labels should be verified in usability testing. Complicated terms should be avoided since they might not be familiar to the target audience.<\/li>\n
\nThe number of steps (clicks and scrolls) necessary to achieve a goal should be minimized.<\/li>\n
\nMake it easy for users to reach their goals by providing multiple options, such as Quick Links, as seen in the example below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n