Patricia Moore

Patricia Moore (born 1952) is an American industrial designer, gerontologist, and author. She is one of the founders of the universal design philosophy.

Moore is a fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America and in 2016 was named one of the Most Notable American Industrial Designers in the field. In 2012, she was inducted into the Rochester Institute of Technology's Innovation Hall of Fame. Hasselt University in Belgium awarded Moore an honorary PhD in May 2019 for "Inclusion and Excellence". Moore is the 2019 Recipient of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum's National Design Award as "Design Mind", and the 2020 Center for Health Design's Changemaker Award. In 2022, she was presented with the World Design Organization's World Design Medal.

Research into design needs Patricia Moore started her career in industrial design in 1974, working with Raymond Loewy International in New York City. In 1979, at the age of 26, she began an unusual sociological experiment to study the experiences of elders in North America. With the help of a makeup artist from Saturday Night Live, she disguised herself as an elderly woman and traveled throughout the United States and Canada, in guises that represented a range of health and wealth, to experience first-hand how elders manage their daily lives.

She has donated many of the artifacts from this research and the rest of her career, including her "Old Pat" disguise, to the Henry Ford Museum.

Professional associations She is the co-author of the American National Standards Committee on Anthropometry. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Harrington Arthritis Research Center, the Herberger Center for Design Excellence at Arizona State University, the Advisory Board of CARF (Certifying Association of Rehabilitation Facilities), and The American Occupational Therapy Association Foundation.

Moore is a Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America.

Works 1985, Disguised: A True Story 2015, Ageing, Ingenuity & Design

Legacy and honors Moore has received the following recognition:

1996 Community Service Award of the American Rehabilitation Association 1996, American Hospital Association's 1996 NOVA Award for the "Family Road" Care Centers 1997, Professional Recognition Award by the Arizona Design Institute ID Magazine named her as one of the "40 Most Socially Conscious Designers" in the world. 2000, a consortium of news editors and organizations selected Moore as one of the "100 Most Important Women in America." 2000, ABC World News featured Moore as one of "50 Americans Defining the New Millennium." 2005, the American Occupational Therapists Association's annual Leadership Award 2006, the American Society of Interior Designers annual Humanitarian Award 2011, the Royal College of Art Inclusive Design Champion Award 2012, Syracuse University bestowed Moore with an honorary doctorate for serving as a “guiding force for a more humane and livable world, blazing a path for inclusiveness, as a true leader in the movement of Universal Design.” 2012, The Rochester Institute of Technology inducted Moore as a member of the “INNOVATORS Hall of Fame”. 2013, WTS presented Moore with their "Innovative Transportation Solutions Award" 2016, Industrial Designers Society of America Most Notable American Industrial Designer 2019, U of Hasselt Belgium Honorary Doctorate in Architecture 2019, the National Design Award for "Design Mind" 2020, the Center for Health Design CHANGEMAKER Award 2022, World Design Organization's World Design Medal