Ageing, design and technology:a contradiction in terms?

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsinotwitter/insta: @iotwatch

First UK distributor of Arduino.

Consultant at designswarm.Founder of Good Night Lamp.Organiser of the London Internet of Things meetup since 2011.

Writing a book on smart homes.Steering a bottom-up internet of things certification mark.

Good Night Lamp™

Helping families connect and sync up across time & places.

Universal access

We use mobile phone networks, this is the most complicatedway but is the more universal.

It’s also the most expensive.

Universal access

It means we can cater to customers who experience very differentways of living:

Global familiesRecovery from illnessChronic stressAnxious about social media

This wasn’t designed.

We started with a simple need of connecting my family.

The rest has come from being public, clear about the objectivebut open enough.

And sticking to a vision for ten years.

This is unusual.

Most businesses fail within 2 years.

Of any kind.

This applies to the space of design & ageing.

The space of design is littered with great intentions and much failure.

It takes decades to find a stable market for what you are designing.

People have to ‘accept’ your product as part of their lives, no matter how useful it might be.

The most creative ideas are often the ones that are impossible to implement and make real.

We often call that ‘Design Fiction’.

Some examples:

Superflux. See What I MeanBuddy appAmazingsBesticDesign CouncilParoSphere

Thoughts:

Prepare to be ready to react to the unexpected at every point of your product’s development.

User research is never done, it hides in the User experience work you do and the service you provide.

You are selling something to someone.

Design is a sales exercise as much as a problem solving exercise.

Gracias!

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsinoalex@designswarm.comtwitter/insta: @iotwatch