Walking the walk

When attempting to design for functionally diverse populations, there are many different approaches you can take. You can, one, assert your ego above all else, ignoring your target consumer demographic and unleashing slightly more colorful versions of the same old stuff that already exists: two, meet directly with the consumer demographic, performing thorough ethnographic research to gain insights into areas of opportunity: or three, you can put on the Koken Aged Simulator Set! (or AGNES, the MIT version). The set, "intended to demonstrate the inconveniences felt by the aged due to musculoskeletal, visual and auditory aging", allows you develop a new level of empathy as you literally disable yourself.

The suit limits range of motion at the knees, back, elbows & digits, while applying weight to the wrists and ankles to simulate weakness. Gloves mute sensation in the hands, goggles occlude vision, and ear plugs block high frequency sounds.

This was undoubtedly inspired by the work of Pattie Moore (pictured below in disguise) during the late 1970's and early 80's in which she imposed similar restrictions on her then twenty something old body. By totally immersing herself in the population she was focusing on, she truly came to understand the physical, psychological and social implications.

In undergrad, I recall an assignment where I was required to rely on a manual wheelchair as my only means of mobility for 4 days. After 45 minutes, I started to get the picture. Nothing on campus was remotely convenient, with stairs in every direction (the entire campus is on a giant hill), poor access routes, limited or often barely functional elevators, library books on shelves too high to reach, cafe counters too high to view the food options, and so on. Plus, the muscles in my shoulders and upper back were on fire after getting to two classes on opposite ends of campus.


The understanding gained from this type of experiential research is imperative if you really want your design interventions to impact how people live. 


I'm beginning to increase my focus on the consumer experiences of those outside the "average" spectrum. From what I've learned through documented research, while the internet has made goods and services more accessible, the market remains predominantly exclusive. Through directly engaging the consumer demographic of interest, I'd like to begin testing some of my ideas on the public in the upcoming months.

IHCD Newsletter

In an effort to expand dialogue about this thesis, I had the recent opportunity to correspond with the Institute for Human Centered Design which is based in Boston, MA and supports the mission of "advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and experience for people of all ages through excellence in design." Organizations like IHCD pave the way for designers who want to work in a climate where the principles of 'design for all' are the basis for design guidelines of any project.

I was fortunate to be featured in their April newsletter, which you can read about here: http://www.adaptenv.org/index.php?option=News&articleid=1096

(click on "view the newsletter" and then scroll down to find me)

 

Old Ladies Rebellion

One final observation of Multi Contextual Fashion, however

a bit late to the party as the most recent collection launched last year:

OldLadiesRebellion, created by Fanny Karst, a young French designer with talent and skill in creating beautiful proportions that would flatter a woman of any age.

Despite my late discovery, the design is so noteworthy & brilliant, I simply had to buy the 2010 line for my 93 year old grandmother, and then also for myself.

Google Images: An Experiment

I started researching options currently available on the market for moisture wicking fabrics incorporated in underwear, after discussing the applications of materials like Coolmax the other day.

One need not look further than Google Images to see the blatant change in

design language upon adding '-for the elderly' to the end of any search query.

If you're ever curious, try it sometime. It does not fail, as evidenced by the following images...

Ah ha! So there clearly IS a way to make moisture wicking underwear somewhat appealing.

I'm not devaluing the necessity of the product shown on the right, I'm simply proposing that wicking undergarments for the aging need not look like bloomers or worse, reference diapers.

But seriously, try another query on Google Images, adding 'for the elderly' to the

end. See what happens...I could use this alone to validate my entire thesis.