Graphic design and gerontology typically do not overlap. One discipline focuses on visual communication and creation, while the other draws from health and human sciences. But School of Design Assistant Professor Kimberly Mitchell is bringing those fields together by championing human-centered, age-inclusive design.

At the heart of her research is a simple but powerful question: What would change if we designed with our future selves in mind?

“During a conversation with a gerontologist, she described touring retirement communities and realizing they didn’t reflect her and her husband’s interests—he still plays video games,” Mitchell says. “It raised a larger question about why we continue designing for outdated ideas of aging instead of how people actually live today.”

Supported by the James Johnson Dudley Faculty Scholarship and the Alma and Hal Reagan Research Award, Mitchell has spent the past two years visiting interdisciplinary aging-research labs across the country to explore how collaboration among design, health, engineering, and gerontology can lead to more innovative ways to supportolder adults. By challenging outdated assumptions and rethinking conventional models, she aims to influence how care, technology, and everyday experiences are designed to support independence, dignity, and meaningful connection at every stage of life.

“While aging is universal, no two people experience it the same way,” Mitchell says. “We want to understand the physical, emotional, cultural, and social changes that shape our lives so we can work toward new possibilities.”

Designing in the “Murky Middle”

Mitchell visited eight research labs at leading institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s McKenchie Family LIFE Home, a premier research center focused on smart-home technologies. These spaces bring together engineers, psychologists, and health experts to improve quality of life as we age.

Mitchell describes this work as happening in what designers sometimes call the “murky middle.” It’s the space where disciplines that do not traditionally intersect come together and where, she says, true innovation happens.

“I was on a conference call and a participant asked, ‘Why is there a graphic designer on the call?’ And I thought, well, who do you think is shaping how people interact with these systems? There is so much we gain from collaboration across disciplines if we broaden the conversation.”

During her lab visits, Mitchell saw how user testing and feedback from older adults shaped everything from lighting and layout to technology integration. She knew many people want to age in place, staying in their homes and communities as they grow older. But saw first-hand how various disciplines are working together to support different models of aging in place.

Turning Research into Resources

Recognizing a gap in how aging is represented in design, Mitchell created the Design for Aging Resources website, a curated shop for aging-related research, tools, and case studies from multiple disciplines, giving designers tangible ways to rethink assumptions and apply more inclusive approaches in their work.

“It’s a digital resource hub for designers, educators, and professionals who are passionate about creating inclusive, thoughtful, and joyful experiences for aging adults,” she says.

Mitchell also created interactive workshops and a companion workbook to help designers put that research into practice. A key conversation during her research became a turning point, revealing how often the systems and experiences we design don’t reflect how people actually live as they age.

That insight led to her “Designing for Our Future Selves” workshops, where participants examine how age bias shapes design decisions, consider physical and social changes, and reflect on what it means to design for their own future selves and others.

Central to the workshops is the 6Ms framework—What Matters, Mobility, Meaningful Activities, Medication, Mealtime, and Making Comfortable—which encourages designers to think more broadly about the experience of aging. Through that lens, Mitchell says participants consider how design decisions can support comfort, independence, dignity, and connection.

“When they first come into the workshops, they often think design for aging is just about accessibility,” she says. “But once they begin thinking about how the systems and experiences they design today will shape their own future selves as they age, everything starts to shift.”

What Comes Next

Mitchell is continuing to advance her research through writing, collaboration, and speaking engagements. She is currently drafting a journal article on innovation in care environments, writing a book on the future of aging and design, and expanding the Design for Aging Resources website as a place where researchers, designers, and practitioners can share ideas and tools.

Building on this research, Mitchell has established the Design for Care Lab, an emerging lab that organizes collaborations across design, health, and engineering. The lab has been designated as an AARP AgeTech Collaborative Testbed, positioning it within a national network evaluating new technologies with older adult populations. 

“As designers, we’re shaping the future and changing the way people think about aging,” she says. “And the future includes all of us, at every stage of life.”