I think one of the faults for design especially inclusive design is that many designers don’t physically put themselves in the position of the user as much as they should. For example I believe if you are going to design products for the elderly you should do similar to Richard Hammond in his documentary and wear and old persons suit for a week - the phrase
“ you should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before passing judgment “
Comes to mind. Many designs which are inclusive are based on book research or prejudices but a lot can be said for first hand experience and living your design process. !
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/ageing-mobility/6030.html
Above is a clip of Richard Hammond in the Mobilitrictor suit that I was talking about earlier it very interesting to see how he reacts to this sudden ageing. Remember here he is only 65 try putting yourself in the position of someone who is 85 ! You can see from his reaction that there is no way he would have fully understood the lifestyle of someone more elderly as well if he hadn’t worn the suit !!
I think the only conclusion that you can draw from this is that personal experiance is one of the best ways of learning and understanding.
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