Our comprehensive interviews with seniors, caregivers, and other stakeholders provided deep insights into the diverse needs and challenges within the elderly community. The findings highlighted that, beyond physical health, social connections play a vital role in promoting seniors' longevity and enhancing their well-being.
24
Seniors (age 65+, urban/suburban)
We used to think...
Aging-in-place planning focused solely on static physical condition.
Now we know...
Aging-in-place can become isolating in the face of changing mental/physical health and social factors
In this video, listen to genuine stories from our participants as they share their personal journeys on the challenges and importance of maintaining social connections while aging.
Hear it from our interviewees
Discover
Organizations & Systemic support
6
Caregivers & Family members
10
Lifelong friends and family were the only keys to social satisfaction.
The "Golden Years" were just for rest and retirement.
Casual interactions also play a crucial role and are equally important
Many seniors desire to stay active and needed
Difficulty finding motivation to start
Uncertainty about where to look or what to look for
Anxiety about meeting new people and visiting new places
As we age, life's transitions often bring feelings of loneliness and changes in routine, making it increasingly difficult to stay socially connected.
Define
Design
Visual Clarity
- minimum text size of 12pt.
- high contrast colors
- distinct stroke
Reduce cognitive load
- segmented information
- uses image as visual cues
- clear actionable buttons
Visibility of System Status
- clear completion indicators
- provide visual guidance
for next steps
- highlight active icons and provide labeled
How might we...
help seniors overcome these barriers in order to stay socially connected
How Might We Questions
We started with "How Might We" (HMW) questions, developed from insights collected through our initial research. These questions helped define challenges and opportunities.
Creative Matrix
We utilized a creative matrix to expand our idea generation, tackling more challenging criteria to ensure a broader range of innovative solutions.
Rapid Ideation
The rapid ideation sessions played a crucial role in generating our initial ideas. We used the "How Might We" questions as a guide, leading to a variety of concepts that we could refine further.
Idea Matrix
This matrix sorted ideas by high and low effort and impact, allowing us to focus on the most promising concepts and set aside those that were less feasible or impactful.
We explored various methodologies to generate and refine ideas, ensuring that our design solutions were both innovative and practical. This phase was structured around four key activities: formulating 'How Might We' questions to direct our brainstorming, conducting rapid ideation sessions to freely explore possible solutions, utilizing creative matrices to expand our thinking within defined boundaries, and finally employing idea matrix to prioritize concepts.
Ideation
Storyboarding
We used storyboard testing to validate the relevance of identified problems and gauge the desirability of our solution ideas with seniors. This helped us understand their needs and reactions to our proposals, how it might fit into their lives, and what current strategies they used, ensuring our solutions were both applicable and beneficial.
Concept Validation and Selection
After generating a range of concepts, we conducted user testing to validate their potential and refine our designs. This phase included several key activities:
Pretotyping and Concept Testing
We developed low-fidelity pretotypes that visually outlined potential designs, complemented by detailed written descriptions of functionalities and benefits. These pretotypes were presented to stakeholders to capture their feedback and insights, facilitating iterative refinement of our concepts.
Why Bucket List ?
While we often associate bucket lists with grand adventures, our findings reveal that seniors typically focus on everyday aspirations and personal milestones.
When we asked seniors about their bucket list...
"mentor younger students"
"Learn to play instrument"
"Meet new friends"
"Volunteer more in my community"
"Learn how to use public transportation"
Through concept testing and focus groups, we learned that bucket list...
sparks new conversations, enhancing social engagement
provides distinct goals and a sense of purpose
fun, engaging and exciting
gives something to look forward to
builds a sense of community and belonging through shared interests
empowers seniors with achievements, boosting confidence and self-esteem
Functionality Testing
We tested the 'Bucket List' feature to see if it genuinely engaged seniors and encouraged connections.
Participants were asked to fill out forms mimicking the onboarding process of our application, where they listed their interests and bucket list items. This allowed us to tailor recommendations using ChatGPT to create personalization recommendation for both activities and people.
During focus group sessions, we presented these personalized bucket lists to participants to gauge their excitement and willingness to connect with others. While some were open to making connections with strangers online, others preferred connections within existing communities or through mutual friends.
Participants shared their bucket lists during the session, sparking conversations and interests in pursuing activities together. Many exchanged contacts, motivated to explore their shared interests.
Onboarding
Simplifying Entry
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Select Interests: Users begin by choosing their interests from predefined categories to personalize their experience.
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Build a Bucket List: Next, they can create and customize their bucket list, with the option to add recommended items.
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Connect Socially: Add friends and identify your community memberships to enhance social interactions and access community-specific activities.
Feed & Personal list
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Feed Page: Discover friends' activities, see events they're joining, and items they've completed. Streamline inspiration and easily add new adventures to your list. Mark events as 'Going', 'Interested', or 'Save for Later' directly from the feed.
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Personal List: Keeping track of both your goals and achievements.
Achievement
Checking things off!
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Earn badges and view completed lists.
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Share your accomplishments on the feed, allowing friends to celebrate your achievements with you.
Community Exploration
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Explore Organizations: Discover organizations, access their created bucket lists and member profiles.
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Member Profiles: View short profiles of community members to find those with shared interests, allowing you to either add them as friends or start a chat.
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Social Expansion: This feature facilitates expanding your social circle by connecting with new people and making new friends within trusted community settings.
Event joining
Enhancing Engagement
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Explore and Join Bucket Lists: Navigate through various bucket lists like "Trying New Things," with events such as kayaking, candle making, or pottery.
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Accessibility and Event Details: Access details about each event, including the location, time, and necessary preparations.
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Community Interaction: See who else is interested or already planning to attend the event.
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Easy Registration: Register for events directly within the app to streamline the process.
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Social Features: Chat with participants of the same event or share event details across different apps
We will showcase how these design principles—emphasizing clarity, minimal cognitive load, and visible system status—are implemented within our product. This section will demonstrate the practical application of our design strategies, exploring both the functionality and workflow.
Deliver
Bask employs the 'Bucket List' concept to foster meaningful interactions based on shared interests, tackling loneliness and isolation.
It integrates user research, iterative design, and AI technology to deliver a user-friendly solution that supports active seniors in enriching their social lives.
Background
Initially focused on environmental adjustments to support aging in place, our project shifted direction after discovering the impact social factors have on seniors' quality of life. This led to the development of Bask, a digital platform designed to enhance social connections among seniors.