1. Designing for older adults: reflecting on two examples Elena Nazzi – IDEA meeting 14.10.11 elna@itu.dk

2. The prayer companion Openness and Specificity, Materiality and Spirituality Research-through-design Designing for a specific category of people

3. Design focus: “We did not focus on needs or problems that the nuns might have, but instead on providing resources for new engagements with the world that they might find meaningful and compelling” p.2058 Designing for older adults: “…we did not built a device for older people in general, but for a specific category of people—nuns— who happen to be old.” p.2064 Suggestion: “rather than designing for an aging population, we should design for the aging members of many different populations” p.2064

4. Desiring to be in touch in a changing communications landscape: attitudes of older adults Focus groups with prototype examples of communication technologies “explore further who older adults would like to feel connected to, how they currently go about sustaining contact with important others, and what the notion of being in touch means to them” p. 3 Lindley, Harper, Sellen - CHI2009 Focus groups and Grounded Theory to inform design Attitudes of older adults to keep in touch

5. Implications for Design of technology to support keeping in touch Allow for a level of intimacy that is personalized Allow for more focused, intense means of communication, as well as for time to reflect Time is dedicated to contact, this contact should be non-intrusive Ease when making contact Support reciprocity (allowing for asymmetry) Difference in keeping in touch with friends and family and with peripheral contacts Self reflection

6. Points for reflection IxD research on “older adults” and IxD research on “specific groups of people that happen to be old” Focus groups to inform design and design to inform design How we relate our projects to these two approaches?

7. References Lindley, S., Harper, R., & Sellen, A. (2009). Desiring to be in Touch in a Changing Communications Landscape : Attitudes of Older Adults. Building, 1693-1702. Gaver, W., Blythe, M., Boucher, A., Jarvis, N., Bowers, J., & Wright, P. (2010). The Prayer Companion Openness and Specificity, Materiality and Spirituality. Design.