Why Design with Seniors in Mind?
Being inclusive is a nice thing to do. That should be reason enough for it to be necessary, but it turns out there are plenty of other reasons it makes sense to design with the senior population in mind.
By the year 2030, 20.6% of the U.S. population will be 65 years of age or older. Worldwide, by 2050, nearly two billion people will be 60 or older—three times as many as in 2000. The elderly population is growing, will continue to grow, and is increasingly using the internet, smartphones, and mobile applications.
The over-65 population also boasts the highest level of household wealth. This isn’t just a growing population—it’s a growing population with money to spend. Most are retired, and their children are done with school and out of the house. If anybody can pay for mobile apps, they can.
So, with money to spare, a growing population seems like something software or mobile app developers would jump on, but for the most part, they haven’t. Seniors are an underserved population. Some health applications have been developed specifically for older people. Still, there are plenty of other software apps out there that seniors want to use but find too intimidating. The solutions needed to include seniors aren’t such a heavy lift. Making some simple adjustments would benefit seniors and developers.
Design Thinking From A Senior Citizen’s Perspective
As we age, our bodies and minds age along with us; things that used to be easy to do, take more time and concentration. People who never wore glasses suddenly need them. And it’s not as if 65 is some magic number, and when you get there, things suddenly change. Nielsen Norman Group research found that between the ages of 25 and 60, people’s ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year. Here we will cover some of the most impactful changes we face as we age and how designing apps for seniors can help them overcome these hurdles.
Visual and Auditory Degeneration
As we age, our vision degrades. This usually starts to happen around age 40. It usually begins with presbyopia (farsightedness caused by the eye lens losing elasticity). Other age-related vision problems include cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and eye floaters. Some of these can affect the ability to see colors properly as well. Here are some design solutions to make your web or mobile app design visually readable:
Provide large enough fonts (16 pixels on a computer, 18-20 pixels on a mobile device).
Make text dynamically adjustable.
Don’t overlay text on images.
Use sans-serif, easy-to-read fonts.
Use a single font.
Provide high contrast.
Icons should be at least 48px/9mm wide.
Effectively use whitespace between icons and text.
Don’t use audio that plays automatically.
Provide subtitles for all videos.
Motor Skill Changes
Our movements become slower and less smooth as we age. Fine motor control decreases, as does the sensitivity of our fingers. To solve this, make sure that your design elements are clickable and decipherable by following the tips below:
Don’t make elaborate gestures necessary.
Most seniors prefer touchscreens and tablets, so be sure your app is tablet-friendly.
Space icons far enough apart to prevent accidental clicking (44px).
Clicking and horizontal swiping are acceptable.
Keep in mind that elderly people generally type with one hand.
Give feedback to let the user know they have successfully clicked something.
Scrollbars can be a challenge, giving as many scroll options as possible—clicking on scrollbar arrows, clicking within draggable page portion, dragging the slider, scroll wheel on a mouse, and keyboard arrow keys.
Clicking is more comfortable than swiping. Swiping is easier than pinching.
Short-Term Memory Loss
Older populations suffer from short-term memory loss. While this presents challenges, it also has an upside—longer attention spans. Seniors citizens will take the time to read all of the information you provide. Therefore, to be able to leverage this fact, you may want to consider the following:
Always make it easy to go back and go home.
Give clear feedback on user progress.
Make updates wisely by not changing everything all at once.
Put the essential navigation elements upfront.
It takes seniors longer to read, so don’t have a screen timeout too early.
Introduce product features gradually.
Avoid multiple actions on a single screen.
Give reminders and alerts as cues for common actions.
Complex skills will be more challenging to learn, so provide easily-accessed help sections.
Use a simple navigation pattern with a horizontal menu bar.
Provide one thing at a time—no multitasking.
Provide a breadcrumb trail as a navigational aid.
Generational Differences in Technology Experience
It’s important to remember that seniors have not been using technology like smartphones their entire lives. This does not mean they can’t, but it does mean some aspects might be more evident to a younger user but not a senior. That’s why you may want to:
Provide clear instructions for users who need them.
Make sure all icons also have text labels.
Don’t use acronyms or technological jargon.
Provide reminders or prompt boxes for the next steps.
Strike a balance—don’t assume your user has tech experience, but don’t be patronizing, either.
Temporary notices are often missed by seniors, especially if they are at the edge of the screen.
Make it very clear which links have already been clicked.
Implement descriptive links.
Make sure privacy and security sections are easy to manage.
Don’t design interfaces that are inflexible or unforgiving.
Make apps usable right “out of the box” and don’t require extra set-up by the user.
