Tag: automobile design

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  Three Lessons from the Auto Industry on Product Innovation for Baby Boomers

  about 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  The auto industry is slowly coming back. Not just in termsof revenues but back to boomers. For nearly all products, the baby boomers of Australia,Europe, North America, as well as Japan’s Dankai buy the high-style, high-techand high-priced vehicles. While the 20, 30 and even 40-somethings may want ... Read More

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  The Future is Gray, Small & Female: Disruptive Demographics and Transportation Tomorrow

  about 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  Data dense and seemingly dry, demographic change and transportation are two topics that by themselves do not readily grab the attention of the public. Yet, these are two inter-related factors that both reflect and reinforce lifestyles, consumer patterns, future retail, real estate and mobility ... Read More

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  As the Baby Boomers Age, is a Mobility Crisis Coming Down the Road?

  over 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  MIT News Office's Peter Dizikes came by the AgeLab to discuss our research on older drivers and mobility. He posed three questions to me addressing:Source: Peter Dizikes, MIT News OfficeWhat are the principle safety issues surrounding older driver safety, What is the potential of new technology to ... Read More

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  A Few More Words on Aging Baby Boomers and the Coming Mobility Gap

  over 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  My commentary onthe transportation needs of an aging America (How to Avoid a Surge of Shut-Ins)appeared October 20, 2010 in the New York Times Opinion section Room for Debate. I argue thatthe convergence of a more active, more numerous, and more demanding olderpopulation with a national ... Read More

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  Fashion, Function & Fun: Product Design Demands of Older Baby Boomer Consumers

  over 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  Too many designers, marketers and concerned observers have declared universal design to be the universal answer to meet the new needs of the growing numbers of older baby boomer consumers. While not altogether incorrect, they are woefully incomplete in their hopes and claims. Universal design and ... Read More

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  The Seasonal Passions of the Older Driver Debate: Safety, Personal Mobility & the Policy Road Ahead

  over 1 year ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  It's that time of year again. It’s summer time and olderdrivers are in the news. Perennially trapped between humor and horror thedebate on older drivers continues in every state house, newspaper, radio talk showand television newscast. One accident translates into a multitude oflegislative ... Read More

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  Good Design, It's All in Your Head: Product Innovation, Mental Models & the Older Consumer

  almost 2 years ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  Product development and launch was easier when the consumer was young enough to see everything as new and novel. While admittedly fast moving and hard to keep, the ‘tween through twenty-something’ market is a relative tabla rasa when introducing new technology and design. Easier does not mean ... Read More

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  User-Centered Design & Innovating to a Higher Standard: Exciting and Delighting the Older Consumer

  almost 2 years ago

  Joseph F Coughlin in Disruptive Demographics

  Innovative product design is increasingly crucial as the generally educated and wealthier boomer consumer rises to the fore of the marketplace with a lifetime of technology experience and rising expectations in tow. Although the current emphasis on invention is important, it misses the mark and ... Read More