Nine per cent of adults in the UK own some form of mobility aid but despite the large number available and the popularity of ‘granny trolleys’ among the elderly, few take into account the aspirations of younger consumers who might benefit from their functional qualities but are repelled by their attached stigma.The potential of mobility aids in such new markets as the large nomadic workforce remains unexplored. Wood and Wood Design took the opportunity to design for this crossover market of nomadic workers and those with need more specific mobility assistance to design an affordable, mainstream lifestyle product that combines the benefits of the ‘granny trolley’, the mobility aid and roller suitcase without the aesthetic stigma of the first two.
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Mobility aid, granny trolley, nomadic workforce, luggage, inclusive design
Design a mainstream product, service, environment, print, on-line or other communication which deliberately includes the needs and aspirations of currently excluded groups of people, or, create a design with young disabled people specifically in mind, focused on their everyday lives in the mainstream. In either case, creating business opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger companies would be an advantage.
Visual communications, interaction design and product design.