Patricia Moore, Internationally Renowned Designer and Gerontologist, Set to Give CCS Commencement Address

Dr. Patricia A. Moore, president of MooreDesign Associates, internationally renowned designer and gerontologist, and a leading authority on consumer lifespan behaviors and requirements, will address the CCS 2022 graduating class at this year’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 12 at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater.

For a period of four years (1979-1982), in an exceptional and daring experiment, Moore traveled throughout the United States and Canada disguised as a woman more than eighty years of age. With her body altered to simulate the normal sensory changes associated with aging, she was able to respond to people, products, and environments as an elder. This experiential immersion took her industrial design in a radically new direction, giving her the experiences and insights to design a series of products suitable for use by elderly people. She is credited as one of the founders of Universal Design, an approach in which products are designed non-exclusively, for use by the widest range of consumers possible, and which has now become standard in the industry.

Since 1990, Moore has designed more than 300 Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Environments for healthcare facilities throughout North America, Europe, China and Japan.

ID Magazine selected Moore as one of The 40 Most Socially Conscious Designers in the world. ABC World News featured Moore as one of 50 Americans Defining the New Millennium. Moore has been honored with the Cooper Hewitt’s prestigious National Design Award as 2019’s Design Mind and The Center for Health Design has honored Moore with the 2020 CHANGEMAKER Award. In 2000, a consortium of news editors named her as one of The 100 Most Important Women in America.

A frequent international lecturer and media guest, Moore is the author of numerous articles and books including “Disguised: A True Story,” “Aging,” “Ingenuity & Design,” “The Business of Aging,” and “OUCH! Why Bad Design Hurts” (forthcoming).

Dr. Moore holds undergraduate degrees in Industrial Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, completion of Advanced Studies in Biomechanics, NY University’s Medical School; graduate degrees in Psychology & Gerontology, Columbia University.

Dr. Moore will also be a part of CCS’ Creative Boost lecture series on Wednesday, May 11 at  3 p.m. EST.