What questions should public policy makers, social service agencies and businesses ask to better meet the changing needs for information of our older population? This conference will address some of the challenges we face as a society in dramatic realignment of demographics toward an older profile.
Why should we consider Visual Design?
Our dependence on information in print, in the environment and on the internet, increases daily. What are the factors that make design more effective for the older user? How can design strategy impact policy and business? What factors must the designer consider in designing for this audience?
Designers must consider the legibility and readability of typography, the communicative impact of images, color application, and word and image systems which combine to create meaning.
Design does not mean “one size fits all”. There are new models for teaching the designer to consider the cognitive and physical needs specific to their audience and how to make design more universally accessible.
As people age, their sensory, cognitive and motor abilities change. Older adults process and manipulate information more slowly. The aging brain, however, does not necessarily “degrade” as much as it compensates, finding strength from other areas. Visual design must take these changes into consideration when targeting an older patient, customer or consumer.
But the changing communication needs of the aging are not limited to biological aging. As one ages, they experience changes in their social relationships, particularly in their identification with certain groups, images, lifestyles and social status. This is called “sociological aging” and it impacts design communication effectiveness. There is also the impact of “psychological aging,” the continual change of cognition and personality over time.
The 20th century witnessed an unprecedented increase in human life expectancy. Growing old is now the majority experience for Americans. Life expectancy at birth in developed countries rose from 47 years in 1900 to 76 years in 2000. Of all humans who ever lived to age 65 half are still living and those over age 75 are the fastest growing segment of the population.
The consequences of the increasing population of long-lived men and women are immense. Already, older adults control 70% of the nation’s wealth. Seniors have major political influence since they vote in disproportionately high numbers and are represented by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the most powerful congressional lobby. There will be 94 million Americans over the age of 55 by 2020 with corresponding further increases in the economic and political power wielded by the aged. Thirty-three percent of health expenditures in the United States currently go to the 13% of population that is 65 years and older.