노인을 위한 가구디자인 개발 방향 연구

A Study on Development Direction in Furniture Design for the Elderly

This study was jointly conducted by the department of nursing science in a college of natural sciences and the furniture design department in the art and physical education to re-search the critical factors for the furniture development for the Elderly in consideration of the surging number of senior citizens not only in Korea but also globally. On the basis of the Elderly’s physical and mental characteristics investigated by the department of nursing science, the furniture design guideline for the Elderly was presented. The following points should be considered at designing the furniture for the Elderly. First, multiple functions like chair with re-movable toilet bowl and part lighting in bed are advantageous. Second, the dimension of furni-ture such as chair, bed and sofa should be ergonomically thought in terms of structure for the Elderly’s convenience. Third, the bright and vivid color of furniture should be chosen from the aspect of the design, while the different kinds of blue should be avoided. Small patterns and high glossy are not recommendable, but various kinds of feelings in different shapes are suggested. Forth, the material should contribute to the fracture prevention and for that sponge, fabric and leather smoothing the surface of furniture are recommendable as the finishing treat-ment in a wide variety of colors.