Compact size. Lightweight. High-speed. Extra new features. Appealing design. Competitive price. Manufacturers have long focused on criteria like these in their quest for successful product lines. In the single-minded pursuit of profits, though, consumers unable to adapt themselves to standardized products for reasons of age or disability have generally been left out of the marketing equation altogether.
However, after a little-noticed meeting in London last August, all this may be about to change. There, after three years of discussion, the Technical Management Board of the Swiss-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) finally adopted "Guide 71," an international standard for designing goods and services to meet the needs of the elderly and disabled.
One of the driving forces in those discussions, and a proponent of the new ISO guideline, was 44-year-old Yasuyuki Hoshikawa, who declared himself deeply moved by the decision, although he sees it as "only a first step forward."