CHALLENGES OF A MODERN ATLAS OF THE AGEING SOCIETY

Atlases are collections of illustrated data, often maps, which give an overview - as well as some details - of one or several topic areas. We noted that this description serves well especially for traditional paper and digital atlases. However, in our today's world of entertainment it might give a somewhat dated impression. For the topic area 'Ageing Society' we aim to visualise age related data in an interactive digital way that supports not only the content but also engages the users, offers opportunities for different stakeholders and levels of interest, and is able to accommodate a range of data as well as future updates. A set of guiding principles for the development process addresses these challenges. First implementations show that following the principles is feasible but expensive in terms of time and attention to detail needed. For each selected topic, a story guides the users through the data and highlights interesting aspects. The user can interrupt the story at any time and explore the data further through interacting with the detailed data representations, and switch back to the story when needed. This allows different levels of access which in combination with the specifically designed navigation concept as well as through the adherence to user aware design principles are very promising for the future developments of the Atlas of the Ageing Society and potentially other atlas products.