[Music]
all right good afternoon
so people dread aging it’s almost
universal we dread what happens to our
bodies the wrinkles the aches and pains
the deterioration part of the reason
this bothers us is that at some point
between our late teens and early 30s our
self-identity becomes set we have this
internal image of who we are for the
rest of our lives
so as unavoidable changes start to set
in feel like we’re no longer ourselves
because the identity in our mind doesn’t
match the identity in the mirror so
let’s let’s liven up the audience raise
your hand if you’re between the age of
45 and 55 go ahead I see a few hands
good good you all look different but
that’s going to change when you turn 65
because this is when marketers designers
and the rest of the world are going to
lump you into one category
it’s called 65-plus this is another key
factor in why we dread Aging right as we
go through our lives we are constantly
redefining our identity with every
decision we make it’s our choices that
define us and then at a certain age we
feel like we have to start making life
decisions from a series of bad choices
we can choose to shut down our life go
out less do less stay home lose our
community or we can rely on
accessibility products which aren’t only
ugly they’re just bad people use words
like medical clinical and institutional
to describe them now while they may
facilitate your active life
these demeaning products take a toll on
your self identity I’m here to tell you
that design can protect our unalienable
right to the continued pursuit of
happiness design can change the aging
paradigm as designers we are challenged
with seeing a world that doesn’t yet
exist and then making it become reality
so why is a 38 year old up on stage
getting all jazzed up about aging and
identity and design well let me back you
up to February 21st 2003 when I was an
excited 24-year old product designer who
had just been hired to work for Michael
Graves the world-renowned architect and
designer who had designed more than 350
buildings around the world and some of
the most iconic products that surround
us in our daily lives my first day of
work was a week away at the same time my
soon-to-be Boston mentor was 67 and he
was on top of the world the very next
day Michael Graves was paralyzed from
the mid-chest down he had had a sinus
infection that crossed over into his
brain and traveled to a spinal cord it’s
an incredibly rare occurrence but it
happened to Michael so the first time I
met Michael was in a rehab hospital
imagine that being how you meet your
boss for the first time and this wasn’t
just my boss this was my idol this was
somebody I had studied in college I
remember that first time and just liked
his designs Michael was so friendly and
approachable and he had this personality
that drew me in now Michael had just
been thrust into this world literally
overnight where he was experiencing
firsthand all of the indignity that
comes with aging and disability and
within healthcare he had lost all of his
privacy and he thought he had lost his
self-identity but Michael quickly
realized he had gained a much richer
he was still an architect and a designer
and now a patient with a richness of
empathy that was powerful and so knowing
the power that design has to improve
people’s lives we all headed in this
direction that none of us had expected
now as we all age most of us are going
to experience issues with our mobility
in fact falling is the most common and
universally dangerous accident that an
older adult can have so I’ve become
fascinated with canes canes are this
gateway product to aging right think
about it this is the first medical
device you’re going to be seen using out
in public yet the it’s this visual
accessory but they all have this
horrible utilitarian look to them and so
while so many people could actually
benefit from using a cane because of the
stigma that’s attached to them
they resist resist resist so we’ve
designed a concept and I’m gonna share
it with you today it’s not available
anywhere but it illustrates how we all
need to think about products like these
start with research we met with so many
cane users doctors physical therapists
occupational therapists we also follow
the principles of universal design but
they don’t go far enough we have to
think about aspiration what I mean is we
have to create objects that people will
want to use not simply need to use the
other key piece of our research was
every designer had to use a cane for a
week take it with him everywhere this
exposed them to not only the functional
frustrations but also the emotional
frustrations that come with having a
cane in your life I remember every time
I went out in public I was suddenly the
center of attention in a way I had never
been before now I only had to put up
with that for a week in reality I would
not
have that luxury so here’s what we did
everybody’s hands are different
everybody’s needs are different so we
designed three different grips each grip
has the same comfortable non-slip
coating which means not only is it
comfortable but when you lean it up
against something it stays there we also
designed a whole new way to adjust the
height which is easier on arthritic
hands but it also hides all of the holes
inside of the grip so what you have
looks like a custom walking stick not
some sort of repurposed flute two of the
grips can hang from your arm or the edge
of a table this one here takes it a step
further so this one takes it a step
further this lower extension gives you
two places to grip securely when you sit
down or stand back up it’s also great if
you’re just hanging out need to kill
time to hang your bag thanks honey
now if you notice the foot this foot is
great because it flexes and it grips any
terrain but we also designed it so it
can stand on its own and when inevitably
somebody does knock it over just step on
it pick it right back up
and we designed two different feet and
we made them easy to replace or swap
which is a huge improvement compared to
canes today so what we designed is a
simple kit of parts you choose a grip
choose a foot choose a pole there’s
those feet again look how easy it is to
just pull it right off with the push of
a button so like I said you choose a
grip choose a foot choose a pole a
variety of colors means your choices are
endless so your style can be limitless
we’re designing for people not a
diagnosis because you are not a senior
or 65 plus you are not a stereotype you
are Yoko buzz iris a force and for too
long you’ve been underestimated by
marketers designers and the rest of the
world we believe passionately that while
aging is not always a cakewalk it does
come with lots of cake it should not be
a series of losses or aesthetic
compromises you should have tools that
respect your life encourage your
constant curiosity and are designed to
reinforce self identity it’s time to
change the face of aging so you can live
by your own design thank you
[Applause]
all right good afternoon
so people dread aging it’s almost
universal we dread what happens to our
bodies the wrinkles the aches and pains
the deterioration part of the reason
this bothers us is that at some point
between our late teens and early 30s our
self-identity becomes set we have this
internal image of who we are for the
rest of our lives
so as unavoidable changes start to set
in feel like we’re no longer ourselves
because the identity in our mind doesn’t
match the identity in the mirror so
let’s let’s liven up the audience raise
your hand if you’re between the age of
45 and 55 go ahead I see a few hands
good good you all look different but
that’s going to change when you turn 65
because this is when marketers designers
and the rest of the world are going to
lump you into one category
it’s called 65-plus this is another key
factor in why we dread Aging right as we
go through our lives we are constantly
redefining our identity with every
decision we make it’s our choices that
define us and then at a certain age we
feel like we have to start making life
decisions from a series of bad choices
we can choose to shut down our life go
out less do less stay home lose our
community or we can rely on
accessibility products which aren’t only
ugly they’re just bad people use words
like medical clinical and institutional
to describe them now while they may
facilitate your active life
these demeaning products take a toll on
your self identity I’m here to tell you
that design can protect our unalienable
right to the continued pursuit of
happiness design can change the aging
paradigm as designers we are challenged
with seeing a world that doesn’t yet
exist and then making it become reality
so why is a 38 year old up on stage
getting all jazzed up about aging and
identity and design well let me back you
up to February 21st 2003 when I was an
excited 24-year old product designer who
had just been hired to work for Michael
Graves the world-renowned architect and
designer who had designed more than 350
buildings around the world and some of
the most iconic products that surround
us in our daily lives my first day of
work was a week away at the same time my
soon-to-be Boston mentor was 67 and he
was on top of the world the very next
day Michael Graves was paralyzed from
the mid-chest down he had had a sinus
infection that crossed over into his
brain and traveled to a spinal cord it’s
an incredibly rare occurrence but it
happened to Michael so the first time I
met Michael was in a rehab hospital
imagine that being how you meet your
boss for the first time and this wasn’t
just my boss this was my idol this was
somebody I had studied in college I
remember that first time and just liked
his designs Michael was so friendly and
approachable and he had this personality
that drew me in now Michael had just
been thrust into this world literally
overnight where he was experiencing
firsthand all of the indignity that
comes with aging and disability and
within healthcare he had lost all of his
privacy and he thought he had lost his
self-identity but Michael quickly
realized he had gained a much richer
he was still an architect and a designer
and now a patient with a richness of
empathy that was powerful and so knowing
the power that design has to improve
people’s lives we all headed in this
direction that none of us had expected
now as we all age most of us are going
to experience issues with our mobility
in fact falling is the most common and
universally dangerous accident that an
older adult can have so I’ve become
fascinated with canes canes are this
gateway product to aging right think
about it this is the first medical
device you’re going to be seen using out
in public yet the it’s this visual
accessory but they all have this
horrible utilitarian look to them and so
while so many people could actually
benefit from using a cane because of the
stigma that’s attached to them
they resist resist resist so we’ve
designed a concept and I’m gonna share
it with you today it’s not available
anywhere but it illustrates how we all
need to think about products like these
start with research we met with so many
cane users doctors physical therapists
occupational therapists we also follow
the principles of universal design but
they don’t go far enough we have to
think about aspiration what I mean is we
have to create objects that people will
want to use not simply need to use the
other key piece of our research was
every designer had to use a cane for a
week take it with him everywhere this
exposed them to not only the functional
frustrations but also the emotional
frustrations that come with having a
cane in your life I remember every time
I went out in public I was suddenly the
center of attention in a way I had never
been before now I only had to put up
with that for a week in reality I would
not
have that luxury so here’s what we did
everybody’s hands are different
everybody’s needs are different so we
designed three different grips each grip
has the same comfortable non-slip
coating which means not only is it
comfortable but when you lean it up
against something it stays there we also
designed a whole new way to adjust the
height which is easier on arthritic
hands but it also hides all of the holes
inside of the grip so what you have
looks like a custom walking stick not
some sort of repurposed flute two of the
grips can hang from your arm or the edge
of a table this one here takes it a step
further so this one takes it a step
further this lower extension gives you
two places to grip securely when you sit
down or stand back up it’s also great if
you’re just hanging out need to kill
time to hang your bag thanks honey
now if you notice the foot this foot is
great because it flexes and it grips any
terrain but we also designed it so it
can stand on its own and when inevitably
somebody does knock it over just step on
it pick it right back up
and we designed two different feet and
we made them easy to replace or swap
which is a huge improvement compared to
canes today so what we designed is a
simple kit of parts you choose a grip
choose a foot choose a pole there’s
those feet again look how easy it is to
just pull it right off with the push of
a button so like I said you choose a
grip choose a foot choose a pole a
variety of colors means your choices are
endless so your style can be limitless
we’re designing for people not a
diagnosis because you are not a senior
or 65 plus you are not a stereotype you
are Yoko buzz iris a force and for too
long you’ve been underestimated by
marketers designers and the rest of the
world we believe passionately that while
aging is not always a cakewalk it does
come with lots of cake it should not be
a series of losses or aesthetic
compromises you should have tools that
respect your life encourage your
constant curiosity and are designed to
reinforce self identity it’s time to
change the face of aging so you can live
by your own design thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: