Designing an Interactive Messaging and Reminder Display for Elderly Erwin R. van Veldhoven, Martijn H. Vastenburg, David V. Keyson ID-StudioLab, http://studiolab.io.tudelft.nl Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology Landbergstraat 15, 2628 CE, Delft, The Netherlands {E.R.vanVeldhoven, M.H.Vastenburg, D.V.Keyson}@tudelft.nl Abstract. Despite the wealth of information and communication technology in society today, there appears to be a lack of acceptable information services for the growing elderly population in need of care. Acceptability is not only related to human factors such as button size and legibility, but rather relates to perceived value and harmony in relation to existing living patterns. This paper describes the design of an asynchronous interactive communication system based upon a bulletin board metaphor. A panel of end-users was involved in various stages of the design process. To improve ease of use, functionality exposed to elderly users is limited, while caregivers are given extended control. A pilot field study with a working prototype showed a high degree of user acceptance. The user centered approach resulted in a design concept that was acceptable for the elderly participants. Keywords: Product design, asynchronous communication, interactive message display, elderly users, acceptability 1 Introduction In most industrialized countries, the number of elderly people is steadily growing. According to EuroStat, for every 100 EU citizens between 15 and 64 years old in 2005, there were 24.7 persons aged 65 and older. The old-age dependency ratio is expected to increase to 39.8 by 2030 1 . Many elderly people indicate they prefer to live independently in their own homes as long as possible, which was confirmed in interview sessions held by the researchers involved in this study. In many cases, however, support is needed to continue their everyday living routines. Whereas support is nowadays typically given by both formal and informal caregivers, support could also be given by technology. This assistive technology is expected to play an increasingly important role in the coming years. Various kinds of technological solutions can already be deployed to support elderly, in which communication has been recognized as a central theme [6, 17, 19, 21, 23]. Existing communication means available to elderly include traditional telephones, mobile phones, and video communication. In recent years, services have 1 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdde511