This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Strategic Product Design at the International Hellenic University. Its subject is redesigning a type of cookware by following the principles of Universal Design. The focus user group are elderly users. They represent a continuously increasing market share, since the global demographics are changing. Many of the existing products are stigmatizing them. So, more effective products should be intro- duced in order to enhance their independent living without marginalizing them. Universal Design offers a very fruitful approach in succeeding this goal. By promoting the equitable and easy use of the product, this approach takes into account its intuitive use of a product by using perceptible stimuli. Their design promotes tolerance of error and various safety factors. Prod- ucts designed with this approach are certainly suitable not only for elderly, but for every po- tential user, no matter the status of her/his ability.
Elderly users are a group with a very large span of capabilities resulting from physical and mental decline. In order to understand thoroughly their needs, contextual interviews with elderly people cooking in their own house were held. After analyzing the data collected, the oven tray was selected as the type of cookware that was the most problematic, as was con- sidered the most difficult cookware to use due to bending posture, lifting and carrying weight. A very intensive research for the most suitable handles was conducted in order to define han- dles with the best possible functionality and to impose them on the existing oven tray design resulting to the final proposal.
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