Over half of consumers between the ages of 60 and 70 have difficulty reading food labels, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.
This article, although focussed on the home environment, provides some clever inspiration for things that can be done to help people with low vision perform everyday tasks more easily and safely.
- Reposition TV sets and so that sunlight or indoor lighting does not glare off of the screen.
- Keep lights on during daytime hours helps to equalize lighting from indoor and outdoor sources.
- Use night-lights in bedrooms, hallways, bathrooms, and kitchens to make tricky areas easier to navigate
- Purchase a small pocket magnifier for the person to keep on hand
- Use rubber bands as a tactile aide to distinguish different bottles or medications from one another. For example, put one rubber band around the shampoo bottle and none on the soap bottle.
- Label medications with big block letter (big C for calcium)
- Pour liquids into contrasting colour containers (milk in a black mug, coffee in a white mug)
We cover the issue of eyesight in some detail in our book but when I read this, it struck me how applying the same thinking to the brand engagement would certainly lead to a more Age-Friendly customer experience.