BACKGROUND
In a course focused on addressing the needs of an aging population, Liz Connolley and I researched seniors' changing behaviors around cooking and eating. Our aging population wants to remain as independent as possible, and food is an integral part of sustaining independence with a high quality of life. The research included thorough secondary research, interviews with both seniors and family members, conversations with experts, and in-home kitchen observations. As our final deliverable, we presented our insights, identified three opportunity areas for product development, and proposed initial design ideas within each theme.
Research question: How does activity in the kitchen affect senior's independence and quality of life? What are the opportunities to influence kitchen behaviors?
PROCESS
The research process began with recruitment for both interviews and in-home observations. We posted fliers around RISD, talked to individuals we knew personally, and visited a nearby senior center. We also reached out to several experts, including an independent home care manager and a chef, in addition to speaking with the seniors themselves. Our interviews were audio recorded, and we documented with photos (some shown below).
INSIGHTS + OPPORTUNITIES
Some of our key insights included:
+ When cooking for one, the possible variety and complexity of food decreases.
+ The loss of accountability towards others fosters negative habits.
+ The loss of ability to cook creates a fear of independence on others and strained family relationships.
+ The loss of accountability towards others fosters negative habits.
+ The loss of ability to cook creates a fear of independence on others and strained family relationships.
+ Seniors seek aspirational experiences, but often don't pursue them in the kitchen.
+ Proactive options available to concerned families typically involve interior design, which may be prohibitively expensive of infeasible.
Based on our insights, we identified these three major opportunity areas for design to impact kitchen behaviors:
INITIAL CONCEPTING + SKETCHES
Using the three main opportunity areas we identified through our research, we roughly sketched out twelve concepts to show how our research might be applied into designs. Below are four concepts I developed:
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