Environments for Aging - Spring 2022 - 23

KEYNOTE Q+A
Fresh perspective
AYSE BIRSEL, COFOUNDER and creative director
of design and innovation studio Birsel + Seck,
has built a career creating products and systems
with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. She's also
authored the book " Design the Life You Love, "
a step-by-step guide to building a meaningful
future. A few years ago, inspired by her aging
parents, she decided to turn her skills toward
designing a better life for people as they age,
gathering insight from hundreds of seniors
across the country on their wants and desires.
On Sunday, April 3, Birsel will kick off the
2022 EFA Conference + Expo with the opening
keynote presentation, " Designing for Life, "
where she'll share lessons from her research
and ways this industry can support seniors in
living lives they will love. Here, she answers a
few questions from Environments for Aging
about her creative process, what feedback from
seniors surprised her the most, and why those
living longer are optimistic about their futures.
EFA: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
Birsel: I transform people's lives through design.
What drew you to helping people feel more
fulfi lled as they age?
The short answer is seeing my parents age.
Th e long answer is a few years back, I spoke at
Amazon's design conference and shared with
them our studio's growing interest in aging.
Th ey invited Birsel + Seck to work on a project
with them in which we co-designed with older
adults and their caregivers to gain an understanding
of their often overlooked or unheard
needs and wants. Th e goal was to design " with
no further than what you want. Love, purpose,
well-being, and friendship. We are the same.
What's diff erent is our ability to access them. "
Th ey explained that as they get older and society
pushes them to the sidelines, these things move
further out of their reach physically, emotionally,
economically, and so on.
them, not for them. " Th is eventually led to our
work on the same topic with Th e SCAN Foundation,
an independent public charity focused
on transforming care for older adults. Th rough
the partnership, our fi rm developed and implemented
a one-and-a-half-year research program
across the U.S., conducting 16 " Design the
Life You Love 65+ " workshops with 250 participants,
including men and women from diverse
areas and backgrounds. We wanted to understand
their unique wants, as we helped them
to reimagine the possibilities and opportunities
for joy, independence, and fulfillment at this
time in their lives.
What's one thing you heard from participants
that surprised you?
" If you want to understand what we want, think
SPOTLIGHT
ON KEYNOTES
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
8-9:15 A.M.
Welcome and Opening Keynote,
" Designing for Life "
Ayse Birsel, author and co-founder
and creati ve director of Birsel +
Seck.
Based on what you learned, where do you see
the biggest opportunity for innovation within
senior living?
Co-design, or co-creation, is about including
users or customers as partners in the creative
process. It helps us understand users not only
through observation and interviews but also
through mutual creativity and collaboration.
Th is is exactly how we did our research on aging,
which upended all of our old preconceptions
on aging and led to my new book, " Design the
LONG Life You Love, " to be published in December
2022.
What's one thing our EFA attendees can expect
to hear in your keynote?
None of the research participants would dispute
the diffi culties and challenges related to
health, family, fi nance, and social life inherent
in living longer. But they wouldn't accept a
reductionist point of view as being representative
of who they are, either. Th ey would fi nd
it old-fashioned. People today are much more
optimistic about living long lives. Th ey don't
see their lives as shrinking. Instead, they see
their lives as expanding and growing. According
to the very people who are leading long
lives, living longer is thrilling.
SUNDAY, APRIL 3
12:30-1:45 P.M.
Environments for Aging Magazine
Awards Luncheon
Environments for Aging magazine
will celebrate the winners of its
Design Showcase and Design
Champions awards programs.
MONDAY, APRIL 4
9-10 A.M.
The Center for Health Design
Changemaker Keynote
Presentati on
The Center presents its award
to Margaret Calkins, a pioneer in
environmental gerontology.
spring 2022 | 23
Environments for Aging - Spring 2022

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