We give kindergartners small chairs because kindergarteners are small people, and we don’t ask them to sit in a chair designed for an 18-year-old high school senior about to graduate.

We anticipate growth as children age, and we give them progressively bigger chairs as their situations change. We use design thinking to provide not just a chair, but a comfortable place to sit.

We know that 20 is not 40 is not 60 is not 80, just as kindergarten bodies are not senior student bodies.

So why do we keep expecting everyone to use the same chair through every age and every stage of life?

In homes and communities, in schools and hospitals, at work and in parks—we can do better by designing with intention.

This means:

• using systems thinking to design sustainably for an aging world.

• building common language around problems and solutions.

• acknowledging and eliminating age bias from our work.

• respecting our responsibility as designers of products, systems, and spaces.

The Age-Friendly Design Thinking Approach™ is an innovative design methodology for every age and every stage of life. It goes beyond user-centered design, beyond human-centered design, beyond universal design — bringing an Age-Friendly lens to every step of the typical design thinking process.

Come design with us and build fewer chairs, more comfortable places to sit.