convey ux16 designing for aging population
TRANSCRIPT
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF WEB USERS: HOW TO DESIGN FOR AN AGING POPULATION
CONVEY UX 2016
Lea Cunibert i-DuranS r . U X D e s i g n e r , A p i x i o
@lea_designer
H I T H E R E !
WHO A R E S E N I O R S ?
WHY SHOULD WE DESIGN FOR THEM?
Power in the numbers!Seniors are one of the fastest growing
segments on the webSources: 2010 U.S. CensusOlder adults and technology from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
O T H E R C O N S I D E R A T I O N S
• Designing for seniors will make your site accessible to pretty much everybody else
• Implementing good practices: Older Adults are particularly effected by poor usability standards
• Other populations may benefit from a senior-friendly design approach
• Low/impaired vision
• Little technological experience
• English learners
Source: Older adults and technology from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
S E N I O R S A N D T E C H N O L O G Y
A TTI TU DE TO WA R D TE CHN O L OG Y V A R I E S BY A G E
Image source: http://imgkid.com/old-women-laughing. shtml
I N T E R N E T U S A G E V A R I E S B Y A G E
• Seniors who use the internet and adopt technology tend to be younger, more educated and affluent.
• Baby boomers
• Have at least some college
• Income above average ($30,000+)
• Live in an urban or suburban area
Source: Pew Research Institute - Older Adults and Technology Use 4/3/14
O L D E R A D U L T S O N L I N E
• 59% who are 65 or older go online
• 47% have broadband
• Once online it becomes a regular part of their lives
• 71% go online everyday
• 82% go online at least weekly
Source: Older adults and technology from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
s e n i o r s a n d t e c h n o l o g y
7 5 % O F S E N I O R G O O N L I N E T O S T A Y I N C O N T A C T W I T H F R I E N D S A N D F A M I L Y
Sources: Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute (ACLP) at New York Law School and Older Americans Technology Services (OATS “Closing the Broadband Gap: How Seniors are Navigating the Digital Highways.” - John Horrigan, Ph.D. April, 2014
T E C H N O L O G Y
0
25
50
75
100
Cell Phone Desktop/laptop Smartphone Tablet
= Seniors over 65 yo
= All adults
Source: Pew Research Institute - Older Adults and Technology Use 4/3/14
T E C H N O L O G Y A D O P T I O N
• A substantial majority of seniors express trepidation about using new digital tools or devices without assistance
• Physical challenges play a role in technology adoption
• Less likely to go online
• Less likely to have broadband
• Less likely to own a smartphone
Source: Pew Research Institute - Attitudes, Impacts, and Barriers to Adoption 4/3/14
A G E - R E L A T E D P H Y S I C A L L I M I T A T I O N S A N D W E B U S E
E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N T H E E Y E S
• Presbyopia (not being able to focus at close distance)
• Cataracts (yellowing of the lenses)
• Reduced pupil size (heightened sensitivity to glare, contrast, low lighting ).
• Decreased color vision
• Loss of peripheral vision. (Glaucoma)
Most common conditions experienced by older adults
Source: Web MD vision problem for aging adults
NO RM AL VIEW
PR E S B YO PI A ( N O G L AS S E S )
P RESB Y O P I A (B IFO C AL )
Lea
P R E S B Y O P I A ( P R O G R E S S I V E )
L IM IT ED VISUA L F IEL D
D E S I G N T I P : U S E A N I M A T I O N T O G U I D E U S E R A T T E N T I O N
C A T A R A C T S ( Y E L L OW I N G O F T H E L E N S E S ) YE L L O W IS HA R D TO D E TE C T
O T H E R C O M M O N V I S U A L P E R C E P T I O N D E F I C I T S
• Decreased ability to visually compare elements (what is the same and what is different)
• Trouble decoding and recognizing icons
T I P : A D D E X P L I C I T L A B E L S
“Visual search is the common task of looking for something in a cluttered visual environment. The item that the observer is searching for is termed the target, while non-target items are termed distractors. ”
– Scholarpedia.org
V I S U A L S E A R C H
VIS UAL S EARC H IN O LD ER AD ULTS
• Significant changes in eye tracking speed and accuracy
• Reduced ability to detect changes in the visual stimuli
• Decline in peripheral vision
Source: Visual search for change in older adults. Veiel LL1, Storandt M, Abrams RA.Age-related decline of peripheral visual processing: the role of eye movements. Beurskens R1, Bock O.
O L D ER AD UL T S H AVE T O D EVEL O P C O P ING S T RAT EGIES T O D EAL W IT H T H E
P H Y S IO L O GIC AL C H ANGES .
Source: http://www.lasikeyejacksonville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/old-eyesmall.jpg
T Y P O G R A P H Y B E S T P R A C T I C E S F O R O L D E R A D U L T S
• Font size: 16 px or greater
• Font weight should be at least regular (avoid thin, light, etc)
• Contrasting font color
• Left align
T Y P O G R A P H Y B E S T P R A C T I C E S F O R O L D E R A D U L T S
Typographical golden ratio:Line Width = Font Size x Font Height
Source: www.pearsoninfied.com Secret Symphony: The Ultimate Guide to Readable Web Typography
E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N H E A R I N G
E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N H E A R I N G
• Seniors have difficulties with:
• Filtering background sounds
• Loss of high pitch sounds
• Understanding fast speech
• Think about this! How many instructional videos currently on the web have one or more of the characteristics listed here?
Source: National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - Hearing loss and older adults.
Photo source: http://yntsites.com/kathy/tag/hands/
E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N M O T O R S K I L L S
• Lower dexterity
• Seniors look at keyboard while typing
• Fitt’s Law is amplified: mice are hard to use
E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N C O G N I T IO N
• Reduced processing speed
• Greater tendency to be distracted
• Reduced capacity of their working memory
• Reduced confidence as they question their own abilities and memory
Sources: Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Older Adults: What Challenges Might Older Adults
Have? - Brain Aging - Models, Methods and Mechanisms, edited by David R Riddle.
E M O T I O N A L N E E D S A N D C O N N E C T I O N S
T I R E D O F “ S C A R E T A C T I C S ”
• They express a lot of fatigue around negative messaging
• “Don’t tell me what to do, let me decide and help me do it”
• Hungry for neutral and unbiased advice
• Encouragement, positive spin, inviting, empowerment all good themes
T R U S T I S S U E S
• Lots of stories of people being taken advantage of
• Wary of the hard sell
• Suspicious of advertising: they know the cost gets passed on to them.
• Read the fine print
• Often they have at least one story of having been duped or bullied
T H E Y D O I T T H E I R W A Y
• Frequently print pages and emails so they can review them later
• Will read every word on a page
• Use their own terminology
T R U S T B U T V E R I F Y
• 50% want to pick up the phone and talk to a human being.50% want to get information emailed to them or online.
• Very thorough about doing their homework
• Whether online or on phone, they want a human connection
“The computer has a language all its own and sometimes I’m intimidated by it and I am right now.”
Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1546627/images/o-SENIOR-TECHNOLOGY-CONFUSED-facebook. jpg
B E S T P R A C T I C E S I N A C T I O N
- Increased the font size globally- Focused on call to actions
