June He leads an Aging and Design course at Westphal that connects students to local communities and asks them to consider design opportunities to support people as they age.

“A multifaceted designer, artist, and researcher with extensive industry experience, June He, assistant professor of Product Design in Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design (@drexelwestphal), encourages students to consider empathy in design.

He leads an Aging and Design course at Westphal that connects students to local communities and asks them to consider design opportunities to support people as they age.

“One of the main goals of my courses is to guide students to understand the situations and needs of older adults,” says He. Students engage with aging simulation costumes, vision impairment goggles, arthritis simulation gloves, and virtual reality simulation to experience the effects of aging on the body and encourage students to consider needs and perspectives outside of their own.

“This approach puts students in the center of experiential learning, evoking their strong sense of empathy and perspective,” He explains.”

By Drexel University