Thank you Apple

The iPad. It’s new. It’s cool. And, it’s a terrific design experience that is likely to excite and delight your grandmother…and you. It is a stellar example of what designers should consider when creating systems for older, no actually, all users – from systems that deliver fun to medical devices. Designing for discriminating baby boomer consumers is more than usability, more than function; it is delivering it all in package with a promise and a bow.

This is what Jo Coughlin, Director of the MIT AgeLab had to say on the iPad. You know what? He is 100% right.

Another of Jo’s articles titled that “Good design its all in your head” is well worth a read.

At long last I think we are getting somewhere with designers appreciating the excitement and challenge of combining elegance with outstanding usability, rather than seeing it as being a chore.

We have Apple to thank for a great deal of this attitude change. Dick Stroud