AARP convention observations

What an discouraging weekend! Just got back from the AARP convention in Las Vegas where I was handed free samples of Glucosamine tablets and Metamucil and offered numerous pamphlets describing how to deal with my declining mental capacity. Notwithstanding all the upbeat handouts, I went there to see if any high tech stuff was being designed specifically for seniors, which is something I’ve been interested in for some time now.

Well, either this is not a priority with designers, or this venue wasn’t the right place to show it off, because there were only a couple booths that had anything that fit my criteria for innovative design aimed at seniors, which was a little surprising given that there were over 300 exhibitors.

I even saw quite a few gadgets that were poorly designed for virtually anyone, not just the 50 to 70 year-olds that made up the majority of the crowd. I’m talking about devices that either had really tiny buttons with microscopic labels, or the buttons were placed so close together that you could easily push two at once, or the shape of the thing was such that it was hard to hold on to, or there was no tactile feedback; you get the picture.

Apparently it is going to take time for product designers to wake up to the fact that the median population of the US is getting older and that the 45 and older segment has more than half of the buying power of the economy. We also represent over 50% of discretionary spending and control 70% of net worth in the U.S. Wake up people!!!