Bryn Griffiths / Industrial Design Engineering

sensory devices: communication in domestic appliances to aid use by older people

Project supported by Dyson Research

A design study which explores ways to communicate more effectively to an ageing population how domestic appliances work, resulting in proposals for sensory devices integral to the product itself.

Product designers in the domestic appliance industry have been guilty in recent years of not keeping up with their counterparts in other sectors when it comes to designing the user interface. Given their relative simplicity, appliances such as vacuum cleaners, kettles and washing machines tend to be more difficult to understand and use than the controls on more complex products from other industries. For older users, this problem has been compounded by domestic appliance producers relying on instruction manuals rather than the intrinsic design of the product itself to communicate.

(click for images)

This study used the Dyson Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner as the main case study. More than a quarter of Dyson's customers are aged 55 and over. Research with 12 older users identified critical areas for development. Findings were then mapped against a parallel investigation of interface issues in automotive interiors. The project generated a set of guidelines for inclusive design that can be used to direct the design process, and a series of prototypes showing how audio and textural sensory devices can be incorporated into domestic appliances to improve ease of use by all.

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