Innovation in hip protector design: Challenging function, meaning and context

Andrews, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1092-8158 (2024) Innovation in hip protector design: Challenging function, meaning and context. Doctoral thesis, University of the Arts London / Falmouth University.

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Abstract / Summary

Older people are at higher risk of falls than the rest of the population and more susceptible to hip fractures. The consequences of this injury in old age can be severe, leading to long-term disability and a reduction in healthy life years. Hip protectors, consisting of underwear with integrated pads over the hip joint, can reduce the risk of fracture. However, long term adoption of these products is low due to aesthetics, discomfort, difficulty of use, and acceptance of fall risk.

This practiced-based PhD embraces human-centred design methodologies, using insights from potential hip protector users, to support prototyping of new types of garments. The research challenges the existing medical model for the design of hip protectors, typically perceived as ‘assistive technology’, and questions how human-centred design practice can identify overlooked criteria that resonates with social and cultural sensitivities. Younger people with mobility difficulties, or conditions such as osteoporosis, are also at risk of falls so the notion of products for the ‘elderly’ is also challenged.

Innovations in materials and manufacturing processes, including 3D printing and inflatable shape changing surfaces are investigated through the practice. These technologies are evaluated in relation to essential performance requirements and how visual and tactile properties can reflect a new design language for hip protectors.

The research draws from fashion theory and clothing semiotics, investigating the identity and meanings associated with hip protectors. The understanding of the social and cultural bearings of these garments, and the notion of fashion as communication, is integral to this research in developing new approaches that satisfy both physiological and psychological user needs.

Knowledge claims exist at the junction between technological innovation, critical gerontology, and clothing semiotics, proposing new approaches to garment design to reduce the risk of hip fractures. The practice responds to a conceptual framework reflecting these domains to develop human-centred ‘Hipwear’ design solutions.

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