Older people, the fastest-growing segment of population, are in danger of being excluded from many services unless there’s a new approach to design, according to global designer Patricia Moore.

Patricia (Pattie) Moore is one of the founders of Universal Design, an approach where products are designed for use by the widest range of consumers possible, and has been named as one of the 40 most socially conscious designers in the world by ID Magazine.

She is the designer behind many well-designed products such as the OXO Smart-Grip potato peeler that feels comfy in the hands of everyone, including kids and grandparents, and her work has contributed to essential devices such as CT scanners and mammogram machines.

Moore, on a visit to Belfast, said that public and private sector organisations must adopt an inclusive approach to the design of new products, services and environments or risk cutting off citizens in the fastest-growing segment of the population, the elderly.

As the world becomes increasingly digitalised, she warned, services that aren’t designed with older people in mind run the risk of failing to achieve their goals.

In Association with

Hosted by Belfast design agency Big Motive, Moore is sharing her expertise with design professionals, professors, lecturers and students at a series of events with Queen’s University, Ulster University and the Matrix panel.

Moore commented: “When I started out in my career, I was shocked to see how many people were forgotten about by our field, especially our elders and those with reduced abilities. 

“With the world rapidly ageing, we can no longer afford to design services or products without keeping equality firmly in mind from the outset, or they will fail.”

Big Motive design director Rebecca Walsh added: “At Big Motive, we are passionate about designing for good, design that leaves no one behind. To create a sustainable, equal and healthy future, society needs services and products that includes not divides, something that Pattie reminds us of every day. Pattie’s work is something we try to live by every day in our company, designing services to be as inclusive as possible.”

Moore was recently named one of the Most Notable American Industrial Designers in the history of the field by the Industrial Designers Society of America, and was selected by a consortium of news editors as one of the 100 Most Important Women in America.

Earlier in her career, Moore disguised herself as a woman in her eighties and traveled around North America to experience life as an older person. The experiment gave her the insight to design a series of products suitable for use by elderly people.

MooreDesign Associates, in Phoenix, Arizona, specialises in developing new products and services for consumers of all ages and abilities.

Photo: Pattie Moore (left) and Rebecca Walsh. (Pic: Richard Trainor)