Obtain that critical specialized information necessary for designing effective—and desirable—transgenerational products and environments...

Decisions based on myths or erroneous assumptions reduce the overall utility, effectiveness, and desireability of the final product or environment.

Written to enlighten design professionals and students about the realities of human aging, our 113-page resource manual, GUIDELINES and STRATEGIES for Designing Transgenerational Products, provides an indispensible set of design guidelines and strategies for designing products and environments that accommodate—and appeal to—users of all ages and abilities, helping you ensure that the products and environments you design, produce or acquire will reflect a realistic understanding of the aging process.

• Section One: The Need for a Transgenerational Perspective presents the rationale for using a transgenerational approach to product design. It introduces designers to the characteristics of our aging aging population and seeks to sensitive the reader to the realities of huaman aging.

• Section Two: The Designer's Link to the Aging Process discusses the changing role and responsibilities of the designer. It lays the foundation for understanding the link between the field's current professional practice and its inplicit need to accommodate the psychological, sociological, and physiological aspects of aging.

• Section Three: The Transgenerational Design Response describes important sensory and physical changes that often occur during the aging process, and provides a detailed set of guidelines and strategies for designing products and environments that accommodate people of all ages and abilities without penalty to any group.

*Written for design professionals, Guidelines and Strategies for Designing Transgenerational Products was supported, in part, by Grant Number 90-AT-0182, from the Administration OIffice of Human Development Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201, and the All-University Gerontology Center, Syracuse University.