A report filed by the European Commission says:
“Notably, the share of those aged 15–64 is projected to decline from 67% to 56% by 2060. The share of those aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 17% to 30%. As a consequence, the EU would move from having four people of working age to each person aged over 65 years to about two people of working-age”
Ideally, we should always design our UX for the Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population. In this post, we will analyze the problems that this population faces and how we can solve the same while building great products:
Problem:
# Difficulty in reading.
Solution:
# Text & Button large in size.
# Fonts 16px min.
# Make it easy for users to increase/decrease font sizes at will.
# Sans serif typefaces.
# Test the product with a screen reader before launch.
# Larger icons.
# Line spacing 1.5 min.
Problem:
# Shades of blue appear faded to seniors.
Solution:
# Overall, color contrast should be increased.
# Keep contrast ratio (difference of text color to the background color) of at least 4.5:1, although it would be best to stay over 7.0:1. (Check it here: webaim.org/resources/ContrastChecker/)
Problem:
# Icons are difficult to comprehend.
Solution:
# Icons should be labeled with text.
Problem:
# Difficulty in listening.
Solution:
# Include subtitles with video or audio.
Problem:
# Seniors can sometimes stumble in "Gestures", especially when they’re new to touch-screen tech.
# There are a number of interaction patterns seniors may have that aren’t common in younger generations, like: typing with one hand, particularly on a mobile device.
Solution:
# Keep gestures simple to perform.
# Simple horizontal, vertical, or diagonal movement is fine, as these are all natural motions.
# Avoid incorporating gestures with quick movements, difficult positioning, or multiple gestures that require the use of both hands or more than two fingers.
Problem:
# In the general population, a mouse is more accurate than a finger. But older people perform better using touch interfaces (finger tapping declines later than some other motor skills)
Solution:
# Reduce the distance between interface elements that are likely to be used in sequence (such as form fields), but make sure they’re at least 2 millimeters apart.
# Buttons on touch interfaces should be at least 9.6 millimeters diagonally (for example, 44 × 44 pixels on an iPad) for ages up to 70, and larger for older people.
# Interface elements to be clicked with a mouse (such as forms and buttons) should be at least 11 millimeters diagonally.
Problem:
# Good news is that Elderly people have a better attention span (as compared to current young gen) - It means that older people often find things that younger people skip right over. The downside of this is the slower pace & increased time to complete tasks.
# The speed at which seniors process information slows with age.
# They can still complete the same tasks, but it may take them a bit longer.
# They need a bit more time to absorb the information to take appropriate action.
# Prospective memory (remembering to do something in the future) suffers - This is particularly relevant for habitual tasks, like remembering to take medication at the right time every day.
# The good news is that the procedural memory (remembering HOW to do things) is generally unaffected in older people - They are able to learn new skills and reproduce them over time.
# Older people almost exclusively use PAPER (calendars and diaries) to supplement their memory.
Solution:
# Progressive disclosure
# Minimalist design
# Avoid Multitasking
# Ensure that their attention isn’t being divided by multiple tasks/parts of a screen
# Avoid splitting tasks into multiple screens if they require memory of previous actions.
# Include reminders and tooltips.
# Introduce product features gradually over time to prevent cognitive overload.
# During longer tasks, give clear feedback on progress and reminders of goals.
# Provide reminders and alerts as cues for habitual actions.
# Don’t be afraid of long-form text and deep content.
Problem:
# Younger generations have grown up using tech, so it’s a natural extension of their life - That's NOT the case with Older gen. Older adults need the MOTIVATION to use tech - and the Motivation is that the app should be USEFUL to them.
# Even with notifications, if an older adult doesn’t find an application to be useful, they’re likely to ignore it for days, weeks, or even months.
# While gamification and similar motivators work well with younger adults, they are often not as effective on seniors.
Solution:
# Build Apps that are Useful to them - like 'Healthcare apps'
Problem:
# Older adults tend to prefer tablets to smartphones (considering the differences in screen sizes and ease of use)
# According to studies, older adults are the primary users of tablets and adopted them earlier than younger users.
Solution:
# Build apps for tablets & large-screen-phones
Problem:
# Older adults prefer to connect with smaller, more intimate groups of people - At the same time, isolation can be an issue, so making those smaller networks more meaningful is key.
# Seniors have trepidations about privacy & security (they would NOT like to share their healthcare data, but would be open to sharing family pics/vids).
# If the app is not tested for aged users, seniors can end up sharing information publicly without realizing it or would struggle to limit the same.
Solution:
# Privacy and security settings should be easy to manage.
# App should be transparent in how information is used.
# App should be forthcoming about any data breaches to ensure trust is maintained.
Problem:
# Older people are even hesitant in Exploring an installed app.
Solution:
# During onboarding introduce users to functions they might not be familiar with.
# Every part of the interaction needs to be kept easy to understand and complete (this should in-general be a practice) - example: keeping the navigational structure simple, strictly adhering to usability best practices, minimizing sublevels in navigation, keeping menus to a single function, keeping the “return” function and the “home” navigation readily accessible.
Problem:
# Older adults need help frequently.
# While younger users are more likely to skip onboarding screens, older users will likely pay more attention to them, reading all instructions before clicking.
Solution:
# App’s help functions &/or tutorials should be readily accessible.
# Include contextual tips throughout an app that are both automatically shown the first time a feature is accessed, and are available at later points when the user requests them.
# Use clear, objective, and educational language without being condescending or patronizing.
Problem:
# They often ignore SMS’ entirely.
Solution:
# Don’t rely on SMS to convey important information.
Problem:
# While young people tend to weigh a lot of options before settling on one, older people emphasize prior knowledge and they give more weight to the opinions of experts (for example, their doctor for medical decisions).
Solution:
# Prioritize shortcuts to previous choices ahead of new alternatives.
# Information framed as "Expert opinion" may be more persuasive (but don’t abuse this bias).
Problem:
# They often make mistakes/errors/misclicks.
Solution:
# Increasing the error-tolerance, even at the cost of suggestions accuracy.
# Error tolerance should apply to form fields, search engines, misclicks, etc.
# It should be easy to recover/undo.
# Think about how important information can be brought up again if it was skipped too quickly.
Problem:
# Especially the elderly users from the pre-cyber era, or the ones from less computerized areas, dont understand latest UIs - (Over time this issue will probably become less and less relevant)
Solution:
# UI should mimic a physical world (example: Pillboxie app has a UI having shelves & jars. See their video here: Youtu.be/lLgOcxK80b4)
“Notably, the share of those aged 15–64 is projected to decline from 67% to 56% by 2060. The share of those aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 17% to 30%. As a consequence, the EU would move from having four people of working age to each person aged over 65 years to about two people of working-age”
Ideally, we should always design our UX for the Seniors & Elderly & Super-aged population. In this post, we will analyze the problems that this population faces and how we can solve the same while building great products:
Problem:
# Difficulty in reading.
Solution:
# Text & Button large in size.
# Fonts 16px min.
# Make it easy for users to increase/decrease font sizes at will.
# Sans serif typefaces.
# Test the product with a screen reader before launch.
# Larger icons.
# Line spacing 1.5 min.
Problem:
# Shades of blue appear faded to seniors.
Solution:
# Overall, color contrast should be increased.
# Keep contrast ratio (difference of text color to the background color) of at least 4.5:1, although it would be best to stay over 7.0:1. (Check it here: webaim.org/resources/ContrastChecker/)
Problem:
# Icons are difficult to comprehend.
Solution:
# Icons should be labeled with text.
Problem:
# Difficulty in listening.
Solution:
# Include subtitles with video or audio.
Problem:
# Seniors can sometimes stumble in "Gestures", especially when they’re new to touch-screen tech.
# There are a number of interaction patterns seniors may have that aren’t common in younger generations, like: typing with one hand, particularly on a mobile device.
Solution:
# Keep gestures simple to perform.
# Simple horizontal, vertical, or diagonal movement is fine, as these are all natural motions.
# Avoid incorporating gestures with quick movements, difficult positioning, or multiple gestures that require the use of both hands or more than two fingers.
Problem:
# In the general population, a mouse is more accurate than a finger. But older people perform better using touch interfaces (finger tapping declines later than some other motor skills)
Solution:
# Reduce the distance between interface elements that are likely to be used in sequence (such as form fields), but make sure they’re at least 2 millimeters apart.
# Buttons on touch interfaces should be at least 9.6 millimeters diagonally (for example, 44 × 44 pixels on an iPad) for ages up to 70, and larger for older people.
# Interface elements to be clicked with a mouse (such as forms and buttons) should be at least 11 millimeters diagonally.
Problem:
# Good news is that Elderly people have a better attention span (as compared to current young gen) - It means that older people often find things that younger people skip right over. The downside of this is the slower pace & increased time to complete tasks.
# The speed at which seniors process information slows with age.
# They can still complete the same tasks, but it may take them a bit longer.
# They need a bit more time to absorb the information to take appropriate action.
# Prospective memory (remembering to do something in the future) suffers - This is particularly relevant for habitual tasks, like remembering to take medication at the right time every day.
# The good news is that the procedural memory (remembering HOW to do things) is generally unaffected in older people - They are able to learn new skills and reproduce them over time.
# Older people almost exclusively use PAPER (calendars and diaries) to supplement their memory.
Solution:
# Progressive disclosure
# Minimalist design
# Avoid Multitasking
# Ensure that their attention isn’t being divided by multiple tasks/parts of a screen
# Avoid splitting tasks into multiple screens if they require memory of previous actions.
# Include reminders and tooltips.
# Introduce product features gradually over time to prevent cognitive overload.
# During longer tasks, give clear feedback on progress and reminders of goals.
# Provide reminders and alerts as cues for habitual actions.
# Don’t be afraid of long-form text and deep content.
Problem:
# Younger generations have grown up using tech, so it’s a natural extension of their life - That's NOT the case with Older gen. Older adults need the MOTIVATION to use tech - and the Motivation is that the app should be USEFUL to them.
# Even with notifications, if an older adult doesn’t find an application to be useful, they’re likely to ignore it for days, weeks, or even months.
# While gamification and similar motivators work well with younger adults, they are often not as effective on seniors.
Solution:
# Build Apps that are Useful to them - like 'Healthcare apps'
Problem:
# Older adults tend to prefer tablets to smartphones (considering the differences in screen sizes and ease of use)
# According to studies, older adults are the primary users of tablets and adopted them earlier than younger users.
Solution:
# Build apps for tablets & large-screen-phones
Problem:
# Older adults prefer to connect with smaller, more intimate groups of people - At the same time, isolation can be an issue, so making those smaller networks more meaningful is key.
# Seniors have trepidations about privacy & security (they would NOT like to share their healthcare data, but would be open to sharing family pics/vids).
# If the app is not tested for aged users, seniors can end up sharing information publicly without realizing it or would struggle to limit the same.
Solution:
# Privacy and security settings should be easy to manage.
# App should be transparent in how information is used.
# App should be forthcoming about any data breaches to ensure trust is maintained.
Problem:
# Older people are even hesitant in Exploring an installed app.
Solution:
# During onboarding introduce users to functions they might not be familiar with.
# Every part of the interaction needs to be kept easy to understand and complete (this should in-general be a practice) - example: keeping the navigational structure simple, strictly adhering to usability best practices, minimizing sublevels in navigation, keeping menus to a single function, keeping the “return” function and the “home” navigation readily accessible.
Problem:
# Older adults need help frequently.
# While younger users are more likely to skip onboarding screens, older users will likely pay more attention to them, reading all instructions before clicking.
Solution:
# App’s help functions &/or tutorials should be readily accessible.
# Include contextual tips throughout an app that are both automatically shown the first time a feature is accessed, and are available at later points when the user requests them.
# Use clear, objective, and educational language without being condescending or patronizing.
Problem:
# They often ignore SMS’ entirely.
Solution:
# Don’t rely on SMS to convey important information.
Problem:
# While young people tend to weigh a lot of options before settling on one, older people emphasize prior knowledge and they give more weight to the opinions of experts (for example, their doctor for medical decisions).
Solution:
# Prioritize shortcuts to previous choices ahead of new alternatives.
# Information framed as "Expert opinion" may be more persuasive (but don’t abuse this bias).
Problem:
# They often make mistakes/errors/misclicks.
Solution:
# Increasing the error-tolerance, even at the cost of suggestions accuracy.
# Error tolerance should apply to form fields, search engines, misclicks, etc.
# It should be easy to recover/undo.
# Think about how important information can be brought up again if it was skipped too quickly.
Problem:
# Especially the elderly users from the pre-cyber era, or the ones from less computerized areas, dont understand latest UIs - (Over time this issue will probably become less and less relevant)
Solution:
# UI should mimic a physical world (example: Pillboxie app has a UI having shelves & jars. See their video here: Youtu.be/lLgOcxK80b4)
Credit:
Gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/en/gut-microbiota-exceedingly-healthy-elderly-people-100-years-old-similar-healthy-30-year-olds/
Medium.com/capitalonedesign/tips-from-the-mother-of-empathy-on-designing-for-elders-e96ee8c6a15
Medium.com/capitalonedesign/tips-from-the-mother-of-empathy-on-designing-for-elders-e96ee8c6a15
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology
Uxplanet.org/ux-accessibility-for-elderly-12-principles-9708289b6f78
Uxplanet.org/ux-accessibility-for-elderly-12-principles-9708289b6f78
Toptal.com/designers/ui/ui-design-for-older-adults
Smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/designing-digital-technology-for-the-elderly/
Smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/designing-digital-technology-for-the-elderly/
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