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Enable - Mobile Phone
Designed for arthritic / elderly users

Project Brief:
"Working from an understanding of the physical difficulties inherent in sufferers of arthritis and an understanding of current product offerings in the marketplace design a product to enable such a sufferer to do something they can't currently do well or at all at the moment."

Area of Interest: Mobile Communication
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  > Enable - Mobile Phone
S K I L L S  
A B O U T  M E David Fletcher - Head of ACS   Graph
 
  Existing Phone   After a group of nine interviews conducted mainly through Arthritis Care Scotland I selected this area because mobility and independence were recurring issues, yet despite this, one of the most useful modern tools presently available is not a feasible option for many people, not only those with arthritis, but also the elderly in general. At present, no manufacturers appear to be looking at these problems, instead producing smaller and smaller devices, and including more and more complex features, with the focus always on the younger market segments.
 
 
 
 
             
   

"It becomes less and less possible to find one my elderly mother-in-law can use, due to arthritic fingers."

"I need something simple to make phone calls in emergencies, particularly as phone boxes get rarer."
Quotes from survey replys

"Currently, seniors make up about 15% of overall cell phone users."
Source: Katherine Meyer: WSJ Report

   Thimble Concept
             
    Speaker Concept   Over Ear   Basic / Advanced Flip Concept
             
    My early concepts attempted to allow the user to use the object without using their fingers, but I decided that the aspect of familiarity was much more important, and that the interfaces for these objects would be very confusing for new users. After reviewing fifteen concepts with the people I had met we chose an idea whereby the phone has two states: basic + advanced. When closed the phone is in a basic state and the user can only do simple functions, with fewer choices to make. For example, they move through the names they have and open the phone to call.   User Empathy Testing
             
    Sketch Models of Opening   Round Large Buttons   Hands Free Button
             
    Final product
             
   

In addition to the physical aspects of the phone (e.g. a hands free option for when the elbow begins to tire) I also worked on the services regarding how the phone is purchased as many people mentioned the fears they had regarding this.

  Final Model
        Final Model
    Services Involved in Purchase   Final Model
             
    In February 2008, three years after I finished this project, Toby Robinson, director of Matob UK Ltd, contacted me about the project and for anyone who is interested in buying a phone for someone with arthritis I would suggest visiting www.matomobile.co.uk
             
    Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License   Top of the page