Julieta Griguol - In-Touch

A communication system for elders and their loved ones

The goal of this project was to design a product and an interaction that improves the quality of life for a senior (person over 65 years old) at home.
To do so we designed a system that triggers communication to keep the bond alive with their unreachable loved ones and diminish their sense of loneliness with an effortless way of interaction.

Academic project
Role
User experience
Illustrator
Video editing
3 months
Teamwork

Research

The methodology to tackle this project was the Design Sprint. Starting with an exercise to get rid of our biases, we wrote our assumptions about the problems that seniors and caregivers face daily.
Exposing the bias got us a clean mind to interview them, do desk research and understand their real situations. We also interviewed an ad hoc psychologist, she told us that a priority problem is socialization which was emphasized by the COVID pandemic.

Problem statement
The limit on the use of technology is now being considered as a disability for seniors. Consequently, it has affected their connection with their unreachable loved ones independently.

Analysis

We transformed the information collected into insights, cluster them on general topics, and voted to tackle the communication problem.
We did a market research about existing related solutions continued by a brainstorming of ideas from which we voted, merged and decided the promising one to develop.

Main Insights about seniors' life
Lonely and bored
Feeling disconnected
Technologically disabled
Unwilling to ask someone for help

What made this project special for me was that we applied a new design approach that consists of focusing on the meaning, on the "why" of the problem. Instead of thinking of a way of communication, we think of how to feel the presence of the other person while being far away from each other.

Testing our first concept with the elderly and the psychologist, we decided to evolve the concept by deepening the research on the sensory and technological aspects, which allowed us to define the main requirements of the product:

ENJOYABLE ACTIVITY

Provide a system that requires the minimum effort from the elder

COLLABORATIVE INTERACTIONS

Fulfill the sense of affection of elderly
through collaborative interactions

FEELING OF COMPANION

Have the elder as center of attention
for the family members

System Architecture

We defined how the interaction technically happens, all the connections between products and the channels from which the information is transmitted.

Validation

We did a prototype using 2 micro:bit to simulate the synchronous connection providing lights and vibration to test the interaction. Followed by the definition of the shape by fast prototyping of 3 most promising shapes to test (guerrilla) the size, way of holding it and symbolic reference; and exploring the ways to integrate the components inside.
And the wireframes of the App to test the usability and desirable features.

We created a mid-fidelity prototype in a simulated environment where we tested the scenario of the senior and the scenario of the loved one. Evaluating the reactions to the feedback produced by In-Touch in both sides, the interaction with the mini In-Touch and sending messages with the app.

In-Touch

After several validations, we collected feedback, group them to detect common ones and discuss together how to tackle them. We worked arriving to the final version of In-Touch.

Mobile app

Love messages

Send photos, record audio, draw and write or send a heart to your senior.

Device connection

Sync the senior's device creating a family group. Sync your mini In-Touch.

Messages history

Check all the messages you have sent, live memories again.

Motivation

We emphasized on the motivations of both users for using the system due to is an innovative way of communication.

For Seniors

Curiosity

Share love

Do it independently

Be part of the hub

Watch it in action

We built a high-fidelity prototype of the system using 3D printing making it functional with all the electronic components and the interactive app in Figma.
To show how it works, we made a demo video. First I made the storyboard of the interaction, which shows the real problem that will later be alleviated by the benefits of In-Touch focusing on the emotional engagement of the users.
It was funny because we didn't have a real senior, so I had to make up one of my colleagues to age her. I directed the shots and then edited the video. I hope you enjoy!

Takeaways

In this project I was able to reaffirm how important a clear and justified communication of the proposed ideas is, otherwise they can go unnoticed or leave room for ambiguity.
When we could not agree on the characteristics of a concept, I applied dividing us into 2 groups of 3 teammates and it was effective, then it was much easier to merge the two concepts formed.
I also learned to trust the responsibility and quality of the work of my colleagues, being able to concentrate on my part but at the same time share the progress to make sense together.
The focus on meaning when designing a product opened a door for me to look beyond what is already established and experiment achieving innovation.