Designing For and With Elderly Users: A Case Study of Co-Designing a Next-Generation Mobile Phone in India

Conventional feature phones designed for the elderly offer extra-large keys, amplified speech, and enlarged on-screen fonts and icons within the constraints of phone’s hardware. In contrast, smartphones offer a range of user customization through accessibility options integrated into the phone’s software. However, there are no feature phones in India which integrate the form factor, tactile controls and interaction scheme into a cohesive user experience designed for and with elderly users. Therefore, this new product development project focused on co-designing a next generation feature phone for the elderly in India. Five stages of user engagement were used to define the key product features, form factor, tactile controls, interaction scheme, and overall user experience. The co-design process adopted for the new product development offers a practical, step-by-step, roadmap for inclusive design of interactive devices that bridge the digital divide between user expectations of the elderly and affordances of information and communication technologies.