Adapted Products for the elderly

Costs
1. Mid range quality and cost
  1. Use strong and visually pleasing materials that are cut accurately
2. Keep costings below £100
  1. Price marker to ensure KISS rule is kept
  2. Allows research for cheap materials that achieve the same effect
3. Possible to go higher with price for the elderly
  1. The elderly are generally wealthier and have more expendable income
  2. Higher price entails higher quality
4. Don't overstock materials
  1. Leading to excessive cost for a single product
  2. Can lead to excessive material waste and careless manufacturing
5. Don't over process the materials you already have
  1. Waste the materials you have and having to order more
  2. Leads to excessive costs
Materials
1. Easily machinable for a smooth and comfortable finish
2. Relatively cheap materials that still full-fill their purpose
  1. Substitute materials for existing materials already used in similar products
  2. Try to keep costings below £50 for the final product/ prototype
3. Hard/strong to withstand wear and tear
4. Use a mixture of different materials
  1. Woods and metals that are easily machined to allow for an accurate finish
5. Possible use of moulded materials
Aestetics
1. A simple modernist design
  1. Very little ornamentation involved
    1. How can you make a product sink into the background?
2. Any aesthetic features made accidentally
  1. Minimalist design
3. Sleek and curved
4. Design driven on function and comfort
5. Using plastics or woods with single colours for a smooth aestetic
Safety
1. Take minimal effort to use to avoid strain
2. Have smooth rounded edges to avoid cuts
  1. Grips on the products to make sure it doesn't slip and cause injury
3. Be self explanatory to avoid injury through misuse
Sizing
1. Have a product with adaptable sizing that can be changed to match the user
  1. Telescopic products
  2. Anthropometrics/ ergonomics
2. A handheld tool
  1. Adapted version of an existing tool innovated into an easier to use product
Features
1. Must take an everyday part of someone's life and make it easier
  1. Ask the elderly to gain an idea of recurring problems
2. Decrease the amount of dexterity and/ or strength required to complete a task
  1. The product should aim to fix this issue
3. Possibility of making a tool to complete multiple tasks
  1. Home related multi-tool that addresses variousproblems
4. Modular design
Client/ user
1. Elderly users providing help completing simple daily tasks
  1. The elderly often start to experience decrease in muscle mass during old age decreasing grip strength used for day to day activities
    1. Weaker muscles and decreased balance increases likelihood of accidents and decreases mobility also
  2. Some elderly people can become forgetful in old age and forget to feed pets or take necessary pills
    1. What ages do these changes occur?
  3. Wide variety of age related conditions to account for
2. Elderly Pet
  1. As they get older dogs back legs become weaker a product could be made to cater for this
Ergonomics
1. The product must be colour coded and simplistic to make it self explanitory
  1. Highlight important places on device with bright colours and different textured materials
  2. Greens and Reds to demonstrate go/stop
2. Refer to anthropometrics to gain the correct data to construct an easily useable product
  1. Comfort and function priorotised
3. Large components for easy assembly and use
4. Look at lowest 5th percentile for grip strength and assess what tasks become difficult for the lower percentiles
5. Be use able for a wide range of different conditions the elderly experience
Environment
1. Minimal environmental effects
  1. Final product will use recyclable plastics and wood types that are easily grown and sustainable

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Adapted Products for the elderly

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	Created by Sam Garnett almost 6 years ago