Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Beacon Hill Village is an innovative nonprofit organisation created by and for local residents determined to grow old in familiar surroundings, and to make that possible for others. Community-based models for aging in place designed by the people who use…
The new version of Mindstorms, Lego’s all-time best-selling product, was developed with the help of a Mindstorms User Panel, with the aim of developing a better product but also a tighter, more trusting bond between corporation and customer. A lengthy…
Some years ago, the media office at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. saw the potential and possibilities of investing time and effort on children as a novel target group for building relations and international understanding. This was the…
A new look at what makes up accessibility. “Did you know that up to 25% of all visitors on your website have some kind of accessibility problem. Some of your users may be blind, deaf, dyslectic, has learning disabilities or…
The room looks like a typical child’s playtime fantasy, decorated with bright carpet and packed with toys, games, costumes, and an indoor jungle gym. But it is also lined on one side with windows and on the other with a…
While the emerging generation’s deftness with technology is a given, researchers say the most potent byproduct may be the feedback factor, which only accelerates the cycles of what’s hot and what’s over. “We think that the single largest differentiator…
The future may lie in devices that care for an aging population, used to living on their own and with money to spend. Often the needs of an older population are at odds with the design of new gadgets. According…
The University of Dundee’s Department of Applied Computing is looking for people who accept the potential advantages of new technology but whose experience is more pain than pleasure. It wants to explore how fear of change can be reduced by…
Inclusive design is about ensuring that environments, products, services and interfaces work for people of all ages and abilities. Many people are interested in this, but there is no ready source of information, methods, tools and examples to help them…
A long essay by Henry Jenkins explores the cultural geography of video game spaces, one which uses traditional children’s play and children’s literature as points of comparison to the digital worlds contemporary children inhabit. Specifically, it examines the “fit†between…
According to a just released report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, women are catching up to men in most measures of online life. Men like the internet for the experiences it offers, while women like it for…
Manufacturers and service providers are starting to design, test and launch a stream of new products specifically for young children. To support the development of these new products and services, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published a…
In recent years, there has been a big increase in new electronic media products for very young children, including those as young as one month old. A driving force behind this new market is the advertising and package labeling that…
A News.com special report explores how a new generation, technologies return the net to its social roots. The report, which is aimed at a broad audience, is organised in five chapters and provides an insight in the importance of grassroots…
The Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) is leading the United States’ charge to develop and deploy emerging technologies that can improve the aging experience in America. Established in 2003, CAST has become a national coalition of more than 400…
Teenagers are using more technology at a younger age to connect with more people than ever before, according to a study of young consumers prepared by Forrester Research, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based market research company. The report, based on a…
Being online, being a Buzzer, is a way of life for millions of young Americans across the country. And increasingly, social networks are their medium. Preeminent among these virtual hangouts is MySpace.com, whose membership has nearly quadrupled since January alone,…
A prototype of a cheap and robust laptop for pupils has been welcomed as an “expression of global solidarity” by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The green machine was showcased for the first time by MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte at the…
This Christmas, tech-peddlers are turning their gaze toward kids, with new lines of grown-up gadgets built for tiny hands. “There’s a shift in need in terms of what a child finds fun and entertaining,” says Jim Silver, editor of the…
Being sent to your bedroom used to be a punishment: now it’s a teen dream. Through personal computers, mobile phones and gaming consoles, teenagers are spurning antisocial angst for a culture of “connected cocooning”. It’s a phrase coined by…