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Older adults: Key factors in design

  • Chapter
Future Interaction Design

Abstract

The western world is experiencing a rapid increase in the use of computers and other interactive electronic products by people of all ages and all walks of life. Computer interaction is no longer restricted to the workplace and for use by those “at work” and is now found everywhere including over the phone and in many useful electronic products.

The envelope of the user group for computer interaction is stretching to incorporate a wide range of people and abilities. Designers can no longer rely on their target user coping with the intricacies of multitasking, multifunction systems of the workplace machine, and must look to the needs of the wider population.

The focus of this contribution is special design which will enable a particularly large group of new users, older adults, to participate fully in the use of information technology, and which will also help them to stay happy, healthy and independent for longer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computing, School of Technology, Oxford Brookes University, UK

    Mary Zajicek

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  1. Mary Zajicek
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science & Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

    Antti Pirhonen PhD  & Pertti Saariluoma PhD  & 

  2. Department of Research Methodology, University of Lapland, Finland

    Hannakaisa Isomäki PhD

  3. School of Computing and Management Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

    Chris Roast PhD

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© 2005 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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Zajicek, M. (2005). Older adults: Key factors in design. In: Pirhonen, A., Saariluoma, P., Isomäki, H., Roast, C. (eds) Future Interaction Design. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-089-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-089-3_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-089-4

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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