Design for seniors

See also: accessibility, accessibility evaluation, accessible design techniques and tutorials

Discussion articles

  • Can expanding targets make object selection easier for older adults?
    Given the proliferation of computers and rapidly aging demographic trends, there is a critical need for user interface designs that accommodate older adults. This article describes one of a series of studies designed to explore alternative interaction techniques to make object selection easier for older mouse users.

  • Creating senior-friendly websites (PDF)
    Older adults are a rapidly growing segment of the online community. However, many website are designed without their needs or characteristics in mind. This brief provides the basics for developing a senior-friendly website.

  • Eight lessons learned
    Design implications for designing for older adults on the web.

  • Less is more in web search interfaces for older adults
    "We have previously found the elderly users to face several usability problems with the current search engines. Thus, we designed an elderly–friendly search interface, Etsin. To evaluate the success of the design, a usability study was conducted for comparing the usability of Etsin and Google. The participants faced fewer usability problems when using Etsin than Google and they valued the clarity of the Etsin interface. In conclusion, elderly users benefit from a simplified search engine interface that is easy to understand and that takes into account age–related issues."
    (Anne Aula, Mika Kaki)

  • Selling older users short
    "If you are designing for a U.S. audience, remember that the population of older adults is increasing, and their online use is increasing. This may represent a large segment of your users."
    (Susan Weinschenk - HFI International)

  • The ageing eye
    Human vision declines with advancing age. Although there are neural losses, the major decline is due to changes in the eye's optics.

  • The convergence of the ageing workforce and accessible technology
    This paper discusses the effects of America's ageing work force on business growth and productivity and illustrates how accessible technology can equip employers and mature workers to face the challenges posed by this demographic trend. As the work force ages, accessibility challenges and disabling conditions will escalate, increasing the need for employers to find ways to accommodate people with disabilities and age-related impairments. Changes in vision, hearing and manual dexterity will directly affect ageing workers' ability to use computing devices and the Internet, tools that have become fixtures in today's economy.

  • The gradual greying of the Internet
    A significant effort is currently directed toward the challenges of creating effective web designs for older individuals. Understanding the onset and trajectory of sensory change throughout middle adulthood is important information for web designers, since the middle-aged/baby-boomer population represents a large and connected user group.

  • Typography and the aging eye: typeface legibility for older viewers with vision problems
    "We know that for signage to function well that it must display useful information, be placed at an accessible point in the space and at a proper viewing height, and be adequately illuminated. Text must be the proper size for readability from desired distances, and must contrast clearly against the background. The demands of the aging eye, however, require typefaces that function well under low vision conditions. Both type designers and signage designers need to be aware of the issues surrounding common vision problems of the aging population, so that the needs of this group might be better addressed in the future."
    (Paul Nini - AIGA Design Forum)

  • Usability for senior citizens
    The Internet enriches many seniors' lives, but most websites violate usability guidelines, making the sites difficult for seniors to use. Current websites are twice as hard to use for seniors than for non-seniors.

  • Website design considerations for older people
    "Webcredible recently analysed and compared the results of 16 usability testing sessions – eight of these sessions conducted with older users (i.e. over the age of 65), and eight with younger users (i.e. under the age of 40). Older users are an audience group that will grow in size and importance over the next few years. Our studies indicate that there are lots of simple things we can do to support their use of the internet."
    (Tim Fidgeon - Usability News)

Research articles

  • Designing for the elderly
    Does the research suggest that there are differences in younger and older users? What can we do to enable older adults to interact with our Web sites at the same level as younger adults?

Design guidelines

  • AgeTree design guide
    AGEtree offers designers two entries to a database of design guidelines: user-related and product-related. The user entry provides scientific information on human changes resulting from the normal ageing process and translates the changes into guidelines. The product entry focuses on the designer with products split into different product components. Every component results in a checklist of design guidelines.

  • Interface design guidelines for users of all ages (PDF)
    From the Agelight foundation, this document presents a series of design guidelines that benefit all users, particular seniors.

  • Making your website senior friendly (PDF)
    A design checklist from the (US) National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine.