Furniture for Later Life: Design Based on Older People’s Experiences of Furniture in Three Housing Forms
Möbler på äldre dar: Design utifrån äldre människors erfarenheter av möbler i tre boendeformer
Author
Summary, in English
The overall approach is user-centered with an early focus on old people. A number of qualitative, descriptive studies were conducted to shed light on everyday relationships between old people and furniture. One common feature of the studies was interviews. In order to reach a deeper and more nuanced understanding, a combination of various data gathering methods has been applied in addition to the interviews. In total, 88 people participated in the studies. A qualitative cross-study content analysis was used to compare accounts regarding relationships between people and furniture for three different housing forms: 1) ordinary housing, 2) senior housing and 3) nursing homes.
The results show that there is great variety in what old people express regarding furniture and reveal a diversity of interests, needs and wishes. In the light of these results, it is unreasonable to reduce old people to a homogeneous group or attempt to specify their needs in advance. Despite this, the results reveal needs and wishes for furniture that provide comfort, pleasure and independence and that contribute to desired experiences of dignity, meaningfulness and freedom. The results are presented in a model explaining how furniture may be attributed significance by older people. The model, which consists of four categories, 1) fit usage, 2) fit human body, 3) suit the individual and 4) fit physical environment, is proposed for use with other product types or services and also for people in other stages of their lives. In the results, old people are seen to be active and reflective users who are capable of identifying their needs as well as specifying and expressing their demands. The needs expressed by old people themselves differ from existing recommendations regarding furniture intended for old people. The latter are based primarily on the effects of physiological changes old people have undergone, whereas the results of this thesis indicate the need for products which provide support also for psychological and social changes and which correspond to a desired identity, i.e. that of an active, independent and self-determinant individual.
The conclusion is that designers ought to be closely involved in researching the needs and wishes of old people and that they ought to embrace a holistic view on people and their diverse needs. This thesis recommends that future works in industrial and market oriented contexts utilize the knowledge generated in this thesis, involve users in iterative design processes, and create totally new or improved furniture solutions desirable and usable by people for as long period of their lives as possible.
Department/s
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Full text
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Department of Design Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University
Topic
- Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Keywords
- Furniture design
- Product experiences
- Human-furniture relationships
- User-centered design
- Aging population
Status
Published
Project
- Development of the Swedish Wood and Furniture Industry for Consumer Oriented and Competitive PLUS-products
Supervisor
- Britt Östlund
Defence date
6 December 2013
Defence time
13:00
Defence place
Stora Hörsalen (DC:Shö), Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre (IKDC) Sölvegatan 26, Lund University Faculty of Engineering
Opponent
- Jóhannes Sigurjónsson (Associate Professor)