Illuminating the future: Lighting for Health and Safety

For many older adults, losing the ability to see well means losing independence. Light is essential to sight. Sight is essential to independence.

I started my research based on IDEO toolkit, HCD, for the first step I wanted to listen and hear to the target users. At Alma Via, an assisted senior housing, in San Francisco I interviewed elderly people older than 70 years old in three different sessions. I continued my interview sessions in Berkeley, as Sacramento senior house and University Neighborhood Apartment. I learned about a lot of facts that are involve in the lighting issue from the design of the apartment to the windows and light bulbs.

How did you use the HCD Toolkit and / or human-centered design as part of the project?

In any step that I took from very beginning I followed the HCD toolkit information.

What was the biggest challenge that the project faced? Did you overcome it?

The first group that I interviewed were elderly people who generally were suffering from dementia. It was hard to follow up with them on the subjects that they couldn't remember.