By 2034, adults over the age of 65 will outnumber children under 18 for the first time in U.S. history—a demographic shift that will shape how we live, work, move, and connect. Despite this, many designed experiences, products, and environments still fail to consider the full range of age-related changes or the diversity of aging experiences.
The Design for Aging Resources website was created in response to a growing need for design that reflects the realities, needs, and aspirations of our aging population.
This platform serves as a living archive of resources—toolkits, articles, videos, case studies, and academic frameworks—organized thematically and tagged for easy access. The goal is to equip users with the knowledge and tools needed to integrate aging-related considerations into their own design processes. The project builds upon interdisciplinary expertise, drawing from fields such as gerontology, graphic design, UI/UX, architecture, and healthcare.
At its core, the project supports users in designing with aging in mind—not only for older adults today but for our collective future selves. Rather than directly challenging ageist assumptions, the curated body of work within the site offers tools, frameworks, and examples that invite users to reflect on and expand their understanding of age-inclusive design. The resources aim to foster more equitable, joyful, and imaginative approaches to designing across the lifespan, where aging is recognized as a valuable and ongoing human experience.
Importantly, the project reframes aging not as a design problem to be solved, but as a design opportunity to be embraced—one that allows us to imagine and build futures that are inclusive, beautiful, and responsive to who we are and who we are becoming.
The Design for Aging Resources website was made possible through the support of the James Johnson Dudley Faculty Scholar Award. This funding enabled national travel to leading interdisciplinary aging labs across the country—spaces where design, health, engineering, and gerontology intersect to support innovation in aging. Through conversations with key stakeholders and observations of these forward-thinking environments, it became clear that while many resources for designing for older adults exist, they are often difficult to find, scattered across disciplines, and not always accessible to those outside specific fields. Inspired by websites such as Ethical Design Resources and The People’s Graphic Design Archive, this project responds to that gap—curating, organizing, and showcasing aging-related design resources in a centralized, searchable format.
