1. T H E C H A N G I N G L A N D S C A P E O F W E B U S E R S
: H O W T O D E S I G N F O R A N A G I N G P O P U L A T I O N
UXPA 2015 - SAN DIEGO L E A C U N I B E R T I - D U R A N A N D K R
Y S B L A C K W O O D
2. WHO ARE SENIORS/OLDER ADULTS? 65+ years old Live on a fixed
income Average income per person: $21,000 from Social Security and
pensions
3. WHY DO WE WANT TO DESIGN FOR SENIORS?
4. S E N I O R P O W E R ! One of the fastest growing segments
on the web 39M according to 2010 U.S. Census 10,000 Baby boomers
retire everyday
5. O T H E R C O N S I D E R A T I O N S Designing for seniors
will make your site accessible to pretty much everybody else
Implementing good practices: Older Adults are particularly effected
by poor usability standards Other populations may benefit from a
senior-friendly design approach Low/impaired vision Little
technological experience English learners
6. SENIORS AND TECHNOLOGY
7. O L D E R A D U L T S O N L I N E 59% who are 65 or older go
online 47% have broadband Once online it becomes a regular part of
their lives 71% go online everyday 82% go online at least
weekly
8. TOP MOTIVATIONS TO GO ONLINE 75% to stay in contact with
family and friends 58% to shop online 53% to research about health
care or medical issues 46% to look for bargains on products 40% to
keep up with the community 17% to watch TV, shows, videos,
etc.
9. I N T E R N E T U S A G E V A R I E S B Y A G E Seniors who
use the internet and adopt technology tend to be younger, more
educated and affluent. Baby boomers Have at least some college
Income above average ($30,000+) Live in an urban or suburban
area
10. T E C H N O L O G Y 0 25 50 75 100 Cell Phone
Desktop/laptop Smartphone Tablet = Seniors over 65 yo = All
adults
11. T E C H N O L O G Y A D O P T I O N A substantial majority
of seniors express trepidation about using new digital tools or
devices without assistance Physical challenges play a role in
technology adoption Less likely to go online Less likely to have
broadband Less likely to own a smartphone
12. A T T I T U D E Attitudes toward technology differ based on
age 60yo+ (Baby boomers) More apt at exploring 70yo+ (Greater
Generation) Risk adverse
13. AGE -RELATED PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS AND WEB USE
14. E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N T H E E Y E Presbyopia (not
being able to focus at close distance) Cataracts (yellowing of the
lenses) Reduced pupil size (heightened sensitivity to glare,
contrast, low lighting ). Decreased color vision Loss of peripheral
vision. (Glaucoma) Most common conditions experienced by older
adults
15. NORMAL VIEW
16. PRESBYOPIA (NO GLASSES)
17. PRESBYOPIA (BIFOCAL) Lea
18. PRESBYOPIA (PROGRESSIVE)
19. LIMITED VISUAL FIELD
20. D E S I G N T I P : U S E A N I M A T I O N T O G U I D E U
S E R A T T E N T I O N
21. C A T A R A C T S ( Y E L L O W I N G O F T H E L EN SES) Y
E L L O W I S H A R D T O D E T E C T
22. O T H E R C O M M O N V I S U A L P E R C E P T I O N D E F
I C I T S Decreased ability to visually compare elements (what is
the same and what is different) Trouble decoding and recognizing
icons
23. T I P : A D D E X P L I C I T L A B E L S
24. Visual search is the common task of looking for something
in a cluttered visual environment. The item that the observer is
searching for is termed the target, while non-target items are
termed distractors. V I S U A L S E A R C H
25. V I S U A L S E A R C H I N O L D E R A D U L T S
Significant changes in eye tracking speed and accuracy Reduced
ability to detect changes in the visual stimuli Decline in
peripheral vision
26. S E N I O R S C O N D U C T V I S U A L S E A R C H E S B Y
S C A N N I N G L E F T T O R I G H T T O P T O B O T T O M
27. T Y P O G R A P H Y B E S T P R A C T I C E S F O R O L D E
R A D U L T S Font size: 16 px or greater Font weight should be at
least regular (avoid thin, light, etc) Contrasting font color Left
align
28. T Y P O G R A P H Y B E S T P R A C T I C E S F O R O L D E
R A D U L T S Typographical golden ratio: Line Width = Font Size x
Font Height
29. E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N H E A R I N G Seniors have
difficulties with: Filtering background sounds Loss of high pitch
sounds Understanding fast speech Think about this! how many
instructional videos currently on the web have one or more of the
characteristics listed here?
30. E F F E C T S O F A G I N G O N M O T O R S K I L L S Lower
dexterity Seniors look at keyboard while typing TIP: avoid
auto-populate Fitts Law is amplified: mice are hard to use
31. EFFECTS OF AGING ON COGNITION Reduced processing speed
Greater tendency to be distracted Reduced capacity of their working
memory Reduced confidence as they question their own abilities and
memory
32. EMOTIONAL NEEDS AND CONNECTIONS
33. T I R E D O F S C A R E T A C T I C S They express a lot of
fatigue around negative messaging Dont tell me what to do, let me
decide and help me do it Hungry for neutral and unbiased advice
Encouragement, positive spin, inviting, empowerment all good
themes
34. T R U S T I S S U E S Lots of stories of people being taken
advantage of Wary of the hard sell Suspicious of advertising: they
know the cost gets passed on to them. Read the fine print Often
they have at least one story of having been duped or bullied
35. T H E Y D O I T T H E I R W A Y Frequently print pages and
emails so they can review them later Tip: think about your print
stylesheet and optimize for readability Will read every word on a
page Tip: links in content/body Use their own terminology Tip: make
sure you arent using lingo
36. T R U S T B U T V E R I F Y 50% want to pick up the phone
and talk to a human being. 50% want to get information emailed to
them or online. TIP: Have a prominent phone number in addition to
online exploration Very thorough about doing their homework TIP:
Provide meaningful content that brings value to the user Whether
online or on phone, they want a human connection TIP: Use imagery
with people
37. The computer has a language all its own and sometimes Im
intimidated by it and I am right now.
38. C A S E S T U D Y : B E S T P R A C T I C E S I N A C T I O
N
