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Final Video

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High Fidelity Prototype

For the third iteration of my prototype I focused more on colour and typography as this heavily impacts the way users instantly respond to the prototype. I wanted to ensure that the design remained cohesive and understandable so I decided to colour coordinate the three levels of education the website would display eventually settling on red, purple and violet. A gradient of these colours would then form the colour scheme of the logo and the over all design. I settled on Futura as my typeface because it’s in keeping with the simplistic design and is one of the most readable and recognisable typefaces.

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Mid-Fidelity Prototype

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Low Fidelity Prototype

During my first round of user testing with the earlier version of my prototype, users stated that some of the buttons were too big on screen and might benefit from being reduced in size or replaced with icons. Also mentioned was the possibility of a menu feature that could enable the user to return to either their profile settings or their homepage as the navigation was said to be confusing at times.

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Formative Presentation Script

Ok so the title of my project is ‘Broader Horizons’

Initially my focus was going to be designing for elderly smartphone users which was one of the main areas of focus in my exegesis, which was basically an exploration into ‘the evolution of modern-day interface and app icon design and how it operates within various user demographics’

But I decided to change my directory a little bit by focusing on HWM find a way to encourage older people to expand their social circles, in order to improve their health and wellbeing as current research indicates that about half of older New Zealanders experience some level of loneliness, and 8-9% feel lonely all or most of the time. Which is important because having inadequate social relationships has been shown to be as bad for health as smoking and loneliness has also been linked to an increased likelihood of entering rest home care.

I conducted several interviews with people over 50, talking with them about their friend groups and how they came to be, as well as how meeting new people and building/managing friendships later in life differs to when your younger.

As a way of synthesising the information I gathered in my interviews I played around with some empathy mapping as I wanted to ensure I understood exactly what my interviewees were trying to articulate in terms of what they said, did, felt and thought. 

Some of the key insights I gathered from this research were that:

The majority of people that the participants referred to as their friends, were actually more like extended family, as they, alongside most people of this age demographic, tended to have grown up alongside several other siblings, usually quite close in age, so a large portion of their friends were introduced to them by other members of the family, so they never really needed to independently go out and build external friendships and develop the desire/need to meet new people. So, I considered exploring HWM encourage people over 50 to independently meet/build relationships with people who are unassociated with family members?

Participants also stated that by the time they reached 50 they had lost contact with a lot of their external friends as most had moved to another country or city either for work or family as these tend to take priority over friendships at this stage in people’s lives. So, I considered HMW make long-distance friendships easier to maintain for people over 50?

Participants stated that their social life was at its peak while at school and uni as well as at some of the earlier places they worked and during this period of time they tended to of made more friends than at any other point in their life. But because things like social media which allow us to easily reconnect with people didn’t exist at that point in time, eventually they have become estranged from the majority of them because of increasingly limited communication over time.

So, for my final HMW I’ve chosen HMW find a way for people over 50 to easily reconnect with old classmates/colleagues in order to build new friendships/relationships?

In terms of ideation I just did a basic brainstorm of solution ideas which I could explore that would appeal to an older demographic - meaning users over 50

Some of these ideas were:

An app or most likely a website which:

- Allows older users to communicate with friends overseas

- Enables older users to connect with people of a similar age via mutual interests and community events

- Allows older single users to connect with each other in terms of dating etc.

At this stage for my solution I’ve chosen to develop a website catered and designed for users over 50, which is where a lot of the research I did last semester will come in handy, which enables people of this demographic who might be feeling a little bit lonely at this point in their lives, to easily reconnect and catch up with people from their past such as old classmates/colleagues/employers/neighbours that they have otherwise lost contact with over time and ultimately rekindle these relationships that were up until recently lost.

So, these are screenshots from my initial prototype so it’s just showing the process of how the user would come across the profile of someone they went to high school with.

So far, I haven’t gotten around to doing any user testing for my initial prototype but I’m aiming to that over the weekend.

My next steps include continuing with user testing and developing my prototype as well as doing a bit of research into competitors and school reunions and such.

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Solution

I’ve chosen to develop a website catered and designed for users over 50, which is where a lot of the research I did last semester will come in handy, which enables people of this demographic who might be feeling a little bit lonely at this point in their lives, to easily reconnect and catch up with people from their past such as old classmates, colleagues, employers, neighbours that they have otherwise lost contact with over time and ultimately rekindle these relationships that were up until recently lost.

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Wireframing

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Presentation

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Insights

‘I met most of my friends through the family’

Participants’ stated that most of their friends were family friends, introduced by/associated with other members of the family, in situations such as through marriage and antenatal classes

HMW encourage people over 50 to independently meet/build relationships with people who are unassociated with family members.

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‘Heaps of my friends live overseas now so I’m not really as close with them anymore’

Participants found that as they got older a large portion of their friends eventually left the country either because they met someone or for work

HMW make long-distance friendships easier to maintain for people over 50.

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‘I was definitely a lot more social when I was younger as I made a lot of friends during my education and at some of the earlier places I worked, but I’ve lost contact with a lot of them’

Participants stated that they had more friends at school/uni than at any other point in their lives, but have now become estranged from the majority of them due to increasingly limited communication over time.

– now have a much smaller social circle and have forgotten how to go out and make friends externally on their own – less of a social life – impaired social skills

HMW find a way for people over 50 to easily reconnect with old classmates/colleagues in order to build new friendships/relationships.

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Synthesis: Empathy Mapping

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Interviewees

Mother – 58 – Uses SM

Father – 59 – Doesn’t Use SM

Aunt – 64 – Uses SM

Uncle – 65 – Doesn’t Use SM

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Interview Script

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview, the aim of this project is to find a way to encourage older people to expand their social circles, in order to improve their health and wellbeing. The purpose of this interview, is for me gage your thoughts, opinions and experiences in regards to this topic. 

So…

-       Would you describe yourself as a social person? Explain?

-       How big is your social circle? Who does it consist of?

-       How many of your friends have you been friends with for over 20 years?

-       How many friends have you made in the last 5 years?

-       Do you make any effort to meet new friends? Explain?

-       Tell me about a time where you had to meet new people - Did you find that easy or difficult?

-       Tell me about how you stay in touch with friends?

-       How often do you see your friends?

-       How important is it to you that you contact friends regularly?

-       What is different now to how you socialise than say 20 years ago? Is it better, worse, the same? Do you socialise more or less?

-       Do you think it’s harder to make friends the older you are? Why?

-       Are you content with how many friends you have? Would you like to have more or less? If you wanted to what would you do?

Thank you again for your time.

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Initial HMW Question

HMW find a way to encourage older people to expand their social circles, in order to improve their health and wellbeing?

Evidence:

Current research indicates that about half of older New Zealanders experience some level of loneliness, and 8-9% feel lonely all or most of the time. This is important, not just because loneliness is painful, but because having inadequate social relationships has been shown to be as bad for health as smoking. Loneliness has also been linked to an increased likelihood of entering rest home care.

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Final Video

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Higher Fidelity Prototype

I chose to name my app ‘Sapling’ as it signifies the apps ability to help single parents grow their support system, by allowing them to plant their roots within the single parent community by branching out and meeting fellow single parents in their area.

I chose a green color palette due to the association of the apps name with nature, by adding color and icons to my prototype the app was found to be much easier to use and navigate. My decision to incorporate a more interactive arrangement planning process proved to be beneficial as the calendar feature made this process easier for the user as it shows each others availability throughout the month. I also decided to simplify the reliability score system by replacing the point system with a 5-star rating, determined by other users.

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Pitch

Ok, so I would bet almost everyone in this room would say they know at least one person who has raised or is raising a child on their own. And I bet everyone would agree that raising a child is one of the most difficult jobs there is. Alongside emotional and finical hardships, the biggest issue single parents face is that their workload is doubled, because they typically have no one to lean on due to the absence of a second parent, having to rely solely on friends and family who will not always be able to help.

So, how might me reduce the workload of single parents?

Sapling is a free downloadable app dedicated to making the lives of single parents just that little bit easier. While it does allow single parents to connect with one another, which holds intrinsic value in itself, its core is the reciprocal service it provides for single parents to help and empower each other to overcome their unique struggles. The idea, is that in working together, these individuals are able to share their workload between each other similarly to the way dual parents do.

This app gives single parents the opportunity to establish a relationship with other single parents in their area, who can empathise with them and can be relied on when things get tough. Whether you need someone to watch your child while you run some errands or just want some overdue quiet time for yourself, Sappling gives you the chance to meet people who are willing to help.

The reliability score feature plays a large role in terms of the impression other users get of you when they come across your profile. Your reliability score is determined by your peers in the form of 5-star rating system, this is intended to make sure people are not taken advantage of, and users who provide more help receive more help in return, and access to third party incentives catered towards parenting such as free subscriptions to various magazines, vouchers and gift cards.

So, let’s help make life easier for single parents and ultimately, their children.

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Competition Analysis: TribeMinder

I came across this app which I had never heard of before called Tribe Minder, which is essentially a babysitting app similar in many ways to mine. It incorporates many of the features I have planned to include within my project such as the points/grading and rewards system. But it has also included some aspects which I haven’t considered at this point so far such as a calendar which displays your availability to other users, which is something I may look into further down the line. Although this app seems well thought out, my issue lies in the design as it feels like more of a website due to the sheer amount of content on the screen at any given time. Whereas for my project I want the app to feel at home on the screen of a mobile device so my design would be much more minimal.