Designing User Interfaces for an Aging Population

Designing User Interfaces for an Aging Population

by Jeff Johnson, Kate Finn
Released February 2017
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780128045121

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Book description

Designing User Interfaces for an Aging Population: Towards Universal Design presents age-friendly design guidelines that are well-established, agreed-upon, research-based, actionable, and applicable across a variety of modern technology platforms.

The book offers guidance for product engineers, designers, or students who want to produce technological products and online services that can be easily and successfully used by older adults and other populations.

It presents typical age-related characteristics, addressing vision and visual design, hand-eye coordination and ergonomics, hearing and sound, speech and comprehension, navigation, focus, cognition, attention, learning, memory, content and writing, attitude and affect, and general accessibility.

The authors explore characteristics of aging via realistic personas which demonstrate the impact of design decisions on actual users over age 55.

  • Presents the characteristics of older adults that can hinder use of technology
  • Provides guidelines for designing technology that can be used by older adults and younger people
  • Review real-world examples of designs that implement the guidelines and the designs that violate them

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Foreword
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Chapter 1. Introduction
    1. What Does “An Aging World” Mean?
    2. Why Should the Aging of the World’s Population Matter to Designers?
    3. Do We Really Need Yet Another Set of Design Guidelines for Yet Another Subgroup?
    4. Moving Forward
    5. Organization of Book
    6. Note
  8. Chapter 2. Meet Some Older Adults
    1. Who Are We Talking About?
    2. The Naming of Things Is a Difficult Matter
    3. Sometimes, Age Really Is Just a Number
    4. Characteristics of Some Older Adults
    5. Personas for This Book
  9. Chapter 3. Vision
    1. Characteristics of Vision in Older Adults
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  10. Chapter 4. Motor Control
    1. Motor Control in Older Adults
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  11. Chapter 5. Hearing and Speech
    1. Age-Related Changes in Hearing
    2. Age-Related Changes in Speech
    3. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  12. Chapter 6. Cognition
    1. Cognition in Older Adults
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  13. Chapter 7. Knowledge
    1. Digital Technology Knowledge Gap in Older Adults
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  14. Chapter 8. Search
    1. Age-Related Differences in Keyword Search
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  15. Chapter 9. Attitude
    1. Older Adults’ Attitudes Toward Technology Usage
    2. Design Guidelines That Help Older Adults (and Others!)
  16. Chapter 10. Working With Older Adults
    1. Older Adults as Participants in Design and Evaluation
    2. Guidelines for Working With Older Adults
  17. Chapter 11. Case Studies
    1. Overview
    2. eCAALYX TV User Interface
    3. Smart Companion to GoLivePhone
    4. ASSISTANT, a Support Tool for Elders Using Public Transportation
    5. Subaru Auto Infotainment System
    6. Virtual Third-Age Simulator for Web Accessibility
  18. Chapter 12. Summary and Conclusions
    1. Combinations of Age Differences
    2. Parting Words
  19. Appendix. Design Guidelines
  20. References
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Designing User Interfaces for an Aging Population
  • Author(s): Jeff Johnson, Kate Finn
  • Release date: February 2017
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780128045121