Wednesday, 12 June 2019 at 5:30 pm – Wednesday, 12 June 2019 at 7:00 pm

User Experience Design and intuitive interaction: Lifecare Furniture and Complex Devices for Older Users

Date: Wednesday 12th June

Time: 5.30pm - 7pm

Location: Geoffrey Manton LT4

Tickets: Free - Available on Eventbrite here

Prof Alethea Blackler is been an international partner in the European MinD project ‘Designing for People with dementia’ and is visiting in this capacity.

This lecture will cover design for older people from two angles – looking at cognitive and physical issues, both of which are important when designing for this cohort. Firstly we will explore intuitive interaction with interfaces and devices for older people, including why older people may have problems when using contemporary devices, and possible design solutions. Then we will look at seating design in the aged care context and how designers could intervene to increase both comfort and independence for older people in aged care. These contrasting projects will highlight many of the issues that need to be considered when designing for our growing ageing population and reveal sometimes surprising results.

Biography

Dr Thea Blackler is Professor at Queensland University of Technology, where she is also the discipline Leader for Industrial, Interaction, Visual Communication and Fashion Design. Prof Blackler's research majors in user experience design with focus on inuitive interaction with and through technology. She has applied her research in the context of aging and dementia, including hospital design, as well as in the context of user experience and travel, conducting research on intuitive expertise related to airport security screening. Prof Blackler is an established PhD supervisor, and she has collaborated with Niedderer on the European project MinD: Designing for People with Dementia.