The Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme has provided the focus in this area – 27 case studies are featured here. On this programme, recent graduates of the RCA work with industry, public and voluntary sector partners to explore ways in which inclusive design can be employed to deliver real-life benefits for older and disabled consumers that ensure products and services work better for all. Some of these projects are about making an incremental difference; others are about breaking new ground in thinking and design.
In healthcare, medication packaging is known to play a significant role in the huge number of cases where people fail to take medicine properly. This can lead to unnecessary suffering and hospital visits, at a considerable cost to the NHS and patients. Here five projects have addressed the key issues, resulting in guidance for industry and purchasing bodies that is already making a difference, according to our key research partner in this area, the NHS National Patient Safety Agency.
In our working lives, far too little attention is given to factors that make the work environment more attractive, safe and comfortable. In the future, as our workforce ages due to demographic change and the need to sustain personal incomes over longer life courses, these issues will take on a greater significance. Workplace design, especially for the older worker is a growing strand in the Centre’s work, and here three projects explore how user-centred design can improve the working environment.
School life is equally important, and at a time when there is real concern about educational standards and low achievement this well-researched project demonstrates how lateral design thinking can help address the many distractions that draw attention away from learning at primary school level.
Independent living is essential to successful ageing, and in the context of the rapid population ageing that is impacting on countries around the world, a crucial strategy for individuals and society. Enabling independent living is a major design challenge, but it is also a major commercial opportunity, and one that will only increase in scale, as we all grow older. Here eight projects explore ways in which design can improve life quality and increase independence through better design of cookers, packaging, DIY tools for home and garden, easier-to-use domestic and communications appliances, and better bathing and washing facilities.
Transport and mobility are integrally linked to independent living and again of crucial importance in the context of ageing societies. They also raise one of the most important challenges for the future: how can we maintain independence into old age and at the same time reduce our dependence on the car. Here six projects explore a range of transport and mobility issues, from making air transport more accessible to older people, who may wish to visit family abroad, and public transport more accessible to mothers and children, to desirable mobility aids and intelligent vehicles.
Media and messages are crucial to the way we understand the world around us, and when it comes to health and wellbeing, many of the messages we hear are about the need to change lifestyles. This is not easy for people, but inclusive design can make a big difference by framing messages in positive ways that encourage mutual support and community responses to what are all too often seen as individual problems. The five projects grouped under this heading range from campaigns to help charities get their messages across more effectively, to a typeface that assists dyslexic readers and better ways of understanding users and communicating complex data sets through accessible graphics.
