Students face the panel at the University of Brighton

Last week I took part in a Dragons Den style event for students at the University of Brighton who have been designing products aimed at addressing some of the challenges of ageing.

This event was both the climax of the second year course module on Subject Object Relationships and the precursor to the Designing for the Future competition being run by The Future Perfect Company in conjunction with the University.

Fourteen students were asked to pitch their ideas to a panel which also included Mark Beasley, from marketing communications agency, rhc advantage, and Nick Gant, principal lecturer.

The students had obviously thought very carefully about growing older and had explored themes such as social isolation, dementia, nutrition and well being. Many had drawn from personal experiences of older relatives to come up with designs which ranged from the purely practical to the conceptual. All of the students had appreciated that products for this market need to be attractive as well as functional.

Mark who has recently published an influential research report on marketing to older audiences was hugely impressed by the originality of the ideas presented. He told the students that their creativity was going to be very welcome in the 50 + market which moreover is set to grow exponentially over the next few years. It is good to be able to give today’s students some positive news about their future prospects for a change!

The results of the Designing for the Future competition will be announced in June 2010

Rhc Advantage’s report, entitled ‘Marketing and Older People’ is available free via the website http://www.rhcadvantage.co.uk