The deterioration of linguistic abilities is a natural phenomenon along with aging. Therefore, various assessment tools have been developed to measure linguistic abilities of seniors and diagnose
degenerative diseases such as dementia. Although most of the tools are composed of images, there are not many studies focusing on the visual design, which could significantly affect performance of the subject. In this regard, this research aims to suggest a design guideline for linguistic ability assessment tools concerning the key characteristics of the elderly, focusing on visual contents and interface.
Existing related researches were mostly conducted in English speaking countries. In order to assess the language processing abilities of Korean-speaking elders more accurately, it is necessary to develop language processing assessment tools that reflect the unique linguistic features and structure of the Korean language. Regarding the existing tools, there is a lack of research on aging, focusing on ‘verb naming.
In the literature review section, the paper investigated the physical, cognitive and emotional characteristics of the elderly and extracted the key elements to consider when designing for the elderly. Also, design principles were found based on case studies and problem analysis of the existing assessment tools for language processing abilities. Lastly, we created a prototype model using ‘verb naming.’ Using the model, we have conducted an experiment and comparative analysis between different age groups to verify the validity of contents.
In conclusion, we provided a design guideline for visual contents and interface of linguistic assessment tools, focusing on elderly users.