Competition kicks off with workshop at the University of Brighton

On Monday I went down to Brighton to meet up with some of the students who will be entering our competition. The competition, called “Designing for the Future” asks entrants to design a product which addresses one or more of the challenges of ageing. The workshop was led by Nick Gant, principal lecturer and Marc Owens, lead tutor. Gretel Jones, consumer markets policy adviser at Age Concern/Help the Aged, who is one of the judges, also joined us for what turned out to be a very interesting afternoon.

The competition is being used by the University as a “live” brief for one of the modules in its 3D Design undergraduate course about Subject Object Relationships. Why for example is it that some objects are cherished and adored for decades, whilst others are simply cast aside like spent cigarettes, just months after purchase? Why are landfill sites full of discarded but still operational technology? What characterises a successful relationship and are these emotionally durable characteristics designable?

We considered some products currently on the market that are functional and help, for example with the problems of bad backs and weak wrists that affect many of us as we get older but that are clinical and dull in design. We all concluded that however useful, these products were simply not desirable and we would certainly not want them in our homes for any longer than we needed them, if at all. We contrasted these with products such as the OXO Good Grips swivel peeler which is attractive and stylish but also comfortable to use and not just for people with arthritis but for everyone. And this, we think, is the key. There is a good quote on this from Bernard Isaacs, founding director of the Birmingham Centre for Applied Gerontology :

“Design for the young and you exclude the old; design for the old and you include the young”.

Another interesting debate is around who “the old” are. As Gretel pointed out, “older people” are generally anyone older than you. And with the number of people over 65 set to comprise half the population by 2020, we were keen to impress on the students that they should be careful not to stereotype. In fact, our experience is that people get more, rather than less, diverse as they get older.

We are awaiting the next stages of the competition eagerly.