Guidelines and Strategies for Designing Transgenerational Products

the long version

Guidelines and Strategies for Designing Transgenerational Products is a resource manual that provides designers with specialized information and knowledge needed to design effective products for people of all ages and abilities. It is intended for use by those who have no special knowledge of the aging process. Its purpose is to inform the design community about the realities of human aging and to offer a useful set of guidelines for designing consumer products and environments that will accommodate the needs of all as we grow older. The manual is a result of a year-long research project "Industrial Design Accommodations: A Transgenerational Perspective" initiated and collaborated on by Syracuse University's Department of Design, All-University Gerontology Center, and Center for Instructional Development under a Federal grant to link the knowledge base of gerontology with the professional practice of industrial design. Its instructional focus explores the critical design aspects of aging; examines the sensory and physical factors of vision, hearing, touch, and movement; and provides designers with a detailed set of "design guidelines and strategies for designing transgenerational products".