Think about the last time you tried to read a menu in a dim restaurant, or tap a tiny button on your phone with cold hands. For a moment, a simple task became harder than it should have been. Now imagine that happening every day, with every device, and you get a sense of what poorly designed technology feels like for many older adults.
The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. A design approach called universal design starts from a simple idea: if you design for the widest possible range of people from the beginning, the result works better for everyone.
This article explains what universal design is, why it matters so much for older adults and people living with cognitive changes, and what families can look for when choosing technology.
What is universal design?
Universal design means creating products, spaces and services that as many people as possible can use, without needing special adaptations.
The idea was formalised in 1997, when a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers at North Carolina State University, led by the late Ronald Mace, developed the seven principles of universal design. Mace, an architect who used a wheelchair, saw how often the built world shut people out.
The seven principles are:
Equitable use. The design is useful to people with diverse abilities.
Flexibility in use. It accommodates a wide range of preferences and abilities.
Simple and intuitive use. It's easy to understand, whatever someone's experience, language skills or concentration level.
Perceptible information. It communicates clearly, whatever the conditions or the person's sensory abilities.
Tolerance for error. It minimises the consequences of accidental actions.
Low physical effort. It can be used comfortably with minimal fatigue.
Size and space for approach and use. There's room to reach and use it, whatever someone's body size or mobility.
The principles were first written with buildings in mind, but they apply just as well to a phone app or a website.
Why it helps everyone, not just older adults
Universal design is sometimes misunderstood as "tech for old people." In practice, the features that help older adults tend to help everyone.
Lever door handles are easier for someone with arthritis, and also easier when you're carrying shopping. Captions help people with hearing loss, and also anyone watching a video on a noisy train. Voice control helps people with low vision, and also a parent with a baby on one hip.
The same is true in software. Clear labels, larger tap targets and plain-language instructions make an app faster and less frustrating for all users. Designing for people at the edges of the range usually improves the experience in the middle too.
Why it matters more as we age
Most older adults are already using technology. Pew Research Center's mobile fact sheet shows that around eight in ten Americans aged 65 and over now own a smartphone. The question isn't whether older adults will use technology, but whether it has been designed with them in mind.
The World Wide Web Consortium's page on older users and web accessibility describes the kinds of age-related changes that affect how people use digital tools:
Vision. Reduced contrast sensitivity, colour perception and near focus make text harder to read.
Physical ability. Reduced dexterity and fine motor control make small targets harder to tap or click.
Hearing. Higher-pitched sounds and speech against background noise become harder to hear.
Cognitive ability. Reduced short-term memory, difficulty concentrating and being easily distracted make it harder to follow navigation or finish a task.
The W3C found that these needs overlap heavily with the needs of people with disabilities. That means tools built to existing accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, are more accessible to older users as well.
For people living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment, the cognitive side matters most. A screen full of options, an unexpected pop-up or an interface that changes after every update can turn a helpful tool into a source of stress.
What good age-inclusive technology looks like
When you're choosing an app or device for yourself or someone you care for, these are the features that make the biggest difference:
Large, high-contrast text. Words and buttons should be easy to read without zooming, and the text size should be adjustable.
Big, well-spaced buttons. Controls should be easy to tap, even with shaky or stiff hands.
Simple navigation. The main task should be reachable in one or two steps, with no hidden menus.
Clear, plain-language messages. If something goes wrong, the app should explain what happened and what to do, not show an error code.
Forgiving design. It should be easy to undo a mistake, and hard to delete something important by accident.
More than one way to receive information. Reminders that combine sound, text and a picture or video are easier to notice and understand.
Consistency. Buttons should stay in the same place. Learning something once should be enough.
Respectful privacy settings. The person using the tool should be able to understand what is shared and with whom. Our guide to privacy and security in AgeTech covers this in more detail.
It's also worth checking the accessibility settings already built into phones and tablets. Most include options for larger text, bold fonts, higher contrast, magnification and spoken feedback. A family member can often make a phone much easier to use in ten minutes, just by adjusting these.
Elli Cares was designed with older adults and people living with cognitive change at the centre. Medication, appointment and daily reminders can include a video recorded by someone familiar, so the message is easy to see, hear and understand. Family members can set up and adjust reminders from their own phone, so the person using Elli doesn't have to manage settings. See how Elli supports seniors and families.
Where technology still falls short
Many products still fail older adults. They're too complex, they assume perfect eyesight and steady hands, or they change their layout without warning. Some are designed for younger users and only adapted for older people as an afterthought.
The result is a digital divide that shuts out the people who could benefit most. It isn't that older adults can't learn new technology. It's that too much technology hasn't been built with them in mind.
One of the best fixes is to involve older adults in the design process from the start, rather than designing for them from a distance. Researchers are still working out how much difference this makes to health outcomes. A systematic review in The Gerontologist found 34 co-design projects for ageing-in-place technology, but only four measured health and wellbeing outcomes, and those results were mixed. What the review did show is that building real relationships between older adults, carers and designers helps the process work. For a broader look at tools already available, see our guide to assistive technologies for cognitive impairment.
Tips for families introducing new technology
Even well-designed technology works best with a little support:
Start with what they already use. A familiar phone with a new app is easier than a new device and a new app at once.
Adjust the settings together. Larger text, louder alerts and higher contrast can be set up in one sitting.
Introduce one feature at a time. Get comfortable with one thing before adding the next.
Write down the basics. A short, printed guide next to the device can build confidence.
Ask what's frustrating. If something keeps going wrong, it's usually a design problem, not a user problem.
Our guide to mobile technology for dementia has more on introducing an app without overwhelming someone.
From usability to dignity
Universal design isn't only about whether a button is big enough. It's about dignity. Technology shouldn't make someone feel slow, confused or left behind. It should feel familiar and manageable, the same way it does for anyone else.
When products are designed for the full range of people who will use them, older adults don't need "special" tools. They can use the same good tools as everyone else, with confidence. As more of daily life moves onto phones and screens, that matters more every year.
If you'd like to see how Elli Cares puts these ideas into practice, visit our Seniors and Families page.
