Re:Vibe

A Companion App for Seniors

A Companion App for Seniors

Product Design

Product Design

USER TESTING

USER TESTING

UI/UX

UI/UX

UXR

UXR

Reimagining companionship to enhance the overall wellbeing of elderly individuals during their golden years.

Reimagining companionship to enhance the overall wellbeing of elderly individuals during their golden years.

Role

Role

Product Designer

Product Designer

Timeline

Timeline

Jan 23 - Dec 23

Jan 23 - Dec 23

Project

Project

Graduate Thesis

Graduate Thesis

What I Did

What I Did

Recruiting Users, User Interviews, UXR,

UX Design, Visual identity, UI Design, Usability Testing, Pretotyping

Recruiting Users, User Interviews, UXR, UX Design, Visual identity, UI Design, Usability Testing, Pretotyping

Recruiting Users, User Interviews, UXR,

UX Design, Visual identity, UI Design, Usability Testing, Pretotyping

Launch

Launch

View Prototype

View Prototype

The Problem

  • Over 10 thousand Americans retire daily and will continue to retire for 10 to 15 years.


  • Adults aged 65 and older in the US are retired. About 16.9% (56.4M) of the total population (331.9M)


  • One in three (34% - 19.2M) retirees report feeling lonely and isolated.


  • It's like smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and it's nearly twice as dangerous as obesity.


  • Over 10 thousand Americans retire daily and will continue to retire for 10 to 15 years.


  • Adults aged 65 and older in the US are retired. About 16.9% (56.4M) of the total population (331.9M)


  • One in three (34% - 19.2M) retirees report feeling lonely and isolated.


  • It's like smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and it's nearly twice as dangerous as obesity.


The Challenge

How might we reduce loneliness in retirees' daily lives caused by lack of companionship and fulfilling engagement activities affecting their overall wellbeing

How might we reduce loneliness in retirees' daily lives caused by lack of companionship and fulfilling engagement activities affecting their overall wellbeing

What

How

Why

The Opportunity and Solution

A Companion app for Senior Adults

A Companion app for Senior Adults

That helps them connect with like-minded peers who share similar interests within a 5-mile radius.


Facilitating in-person activities for enjoyable shared experience.


Encourages them to look forward to each day by enhancing their sense of purpose and satisfaction.

That helps them connect with like-minded peers who share similar interests within a 5-mile radius.


Facilitating in-person activities for enjoyable shared experience.


Encourages them to look forward to each day by enhancing their sense of purpose and satisfaction.

Design Outcomes

Companion Suggestions

Companion Suggestions

The Discover page showcases user profiles, highlighting their preferences, interests, and desires.


I intentionally omitted profile pictures on the app's main interface, acknowledging their limited relevance in connecting with like-minded individuals, particularly among seniors. This also aided in avoiding any impression of it being a dating platform where users make decisions based on physical appearance.


I validated this decision with a usability test and found that users preferred content over pictures - "I am glad to not see pictures first. Content over pictures is what matters at this age"

The Discover page showcases user profiles, highlighting their preferences, interests, and desires.


I intentionally omitted profile pictures on the app's main interface, acknowledging their limited relevance in connecting with like-minded individuals, particularly among seniors. This also aided in avoiding any impression of it being a dating platform where users make decisions based on physical appearance.


I validated this decision with a usability test and found that users preferred content over pictures - "I am glad to not see pictures first. Content over pictures is what matters at this age"

Icebreakers, Voice, Speech-to-text

Icebreakers, Voice, Speech-to-text

Designed the conversation UI with accessibility in mind, providing users with multiple ways to interact and making it inclusive.


The Icebreaker suggestion feature helps users start conversations or plan activities together.


Usability Test Results- Users felt comfortable with the 'Icebreaker Suggestions' and created an Aha Moment.

Designed the conversation UI with accessibility in mind, providing users with multiple ways to interact and making it inclusive.


The Icebreaker suggestion feature helps users start conversations or plan activities together.


Usability Test Results- Users felt comfortable with the 'Icebreaker Suggestions' and created an Aha Moment.

Activities near you

Activities near you

Help users discover activities based on their interests and preferences. Relevant details, such as accessibility information for seniors, number of attendees, navigation assistance, and the ability to invite companions, are provided on each activity page.


Offering users the ability to personalize their experience with custom activities creates a safer and easier environment.


Usability Test Results- Users easily found activities, and loved accessibility details and attendee count.

Help users discover activities based on their interests and preferences. Relevant details, such as accessibility information for seniors, number of attendees, navigation assistance, and the ability to invite companions, are provided on each activity page.


Offering users the ability to personalize their experience with custom activities creates a safer and easier environment.


Usability Test Results- Users easily found activities, and loved accessibility details and attendee count.

Accessible Onboarding

Accessible Onboarding

Leveraged WCAG 2.2 guidelines to design an intuitive and inclusive onboarding experience.


Designed the pattern library- color palette, font style and text sizes, icons, form fields, CTAs, and clickable areas with AAA-approved guidelines.


Usability Test Results- I gained valuable insights into the language used and identified areas where I can improve inclusivity. Users particularly liked the Accessibility Needs Onboarding for personalization.

Leveraged WCAG 2.2 guidelines to design an intuitive and inclusive onboarding experience.


Designed the pattern library- color palette, font style and text sizes, icons, form fields, CTAs, and clickable areas with AAA-approved guidelines.


Usability Test Results- I gained valuable insights into the language used and identified areas where I can improve inclusivity. Users particularly liked the Accessibility Needs Onboarding for personalization.

Design Process

Research and Ideation

Research and Ideation

To gain insights into user behavior, needs, and challenges related to loneliness, I conducted 12 user interviews with individuals who acknowledged experiencing loneliness. To recruit participants, I created a survey with specific questions and promoted it on the Nextdoor Neighbor App since most of my target users, aged 65 and above, were active on this platform.


After conducting insightful interviews, I used Mind Mapping and Problem Tree Analysis to synthesize the findings.


To dive deeper into the research, click below to access the Figjam file and explore the findings in more detail.

To gain insights into user behavior, needs, and challenges related to loneliness, I conducted 12 user interviews with individuals who acknowledged experiencing loneliness. To recruit participants, I created a survey with specific questions and promoted it on the Nextdoor Neighbor App since most of my target users, aged 65 and above, were active on this platform.


After conducting insightful interviews, I used Mind Mapping and Problem Tree Analysis to synthesize the findings.


To dive deeper into the research, click below to access the Figjam file and explore the findings in more detail.

See Research

Userflow

Userflow

The navigation flow played a pivotal role in shaping the development of this app, ensuring a user-centric design that caters specifically to the needs of older adults. By crafting a seamless and intuitive journey through the app, the navigation flow prioritized accessibility, ease of use, and concise interaction.

Key Insights

Key Insights

Need a companion to do fun activities

Need a companion to do fun activities

Pain Points

  • Couples don't involve singles to socialize

  • Difficult to find single friends

  • Friends/connections don't have same interests

  • Miss human interaction, feel caged.

  • Location and distance restricts dating and meeting people

Want to feel purposeful and add joy to the boring life

Want to feel purposeful and add joy to the boring life

Pain Points

  • Need a purpose to wake up every morning.

  • A purpose that helps motivate to move and engage in productive activities.

  • Idleness impacts their mental and physical well-being.

  • Need resources to find part-time/fun activities.

Need commutable, accessible, and safe opportunities

Need commutable, accessible, and safe opportunities

Pain Points

  • Don't have a car; fear driving at night.

  • Mobility issues

  • Financial constraints

  • Anxiety about traveling alone on public transport

Usability Findings

Most tasks performed by the users were successful, scoring 97.5%. The major concerns were icebreaker relevance, use, and sharing your experience, intentions, and motives. Users suggested some instructional feedback too, which was insightful. Usability testing proved to be a great tool to understand the gaps and help me refine the app for a better user experience.

The app achieved an impressive Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 40, reflecting users' high likelihood of recommending it to others. This exceptional score underscores the app's positive impact and the satisfaction users feel with its features and overall experience. The NPS of 40 indicates a strong endorsement and loyalty among the user base.

Market Validation

Market Validation

In a month-long pretotyping experiment, I strategically deployed a landing page and a video, elucidating the app's concept and urging users to register for early access. Promoting the landing page was a bit of a struggle as my users were not essentially active on social media. Hence, I used a mix of online, offline, and B2B approaches to maximize the reach.

In a month-long pretotyping experiment, I strategically deployed a landing page and a video, elucidating the app's concept and urging users to register for early access. Promoting the landing page was a bit of a struggle as my users were not essentially active on social media. Hence, I used a mix of online, offline, and B2B approaches to maximize the reach.

Pretotyping Findings

The pretotyping experiments yielded notable success as users exhibited significant interest in the concept, validating my risky assumptions with robust quantitative data, affirming the viability and appeal of the this app. All three risky assumptions were validated with a phenomenal success and I see good potential in where the concept lies.

I ran Pretotyping experiments for 20 days to test the premise of the idea. Fake front door landing page which was age restricted and encouraged the users to Sign up or Download the app. These targeted promotions helped me understand the Desirability, Feasibility and Viability of the solution.

Key Takeaways
and Learnings

Key Takeaways
and Learnings

After a year spent researching the problem area, interviewing users, and iterating the design, I had the most enjoyable experience during the testing phase with users. The insights I gained from this process were truly mind-blowing.


Designing the interface for this particular user segment was a challenging and interesting task. The presence of accessibility constraints and technology constraints led to a deeper understanding of how to build a user-friendly product for people of all ages by focusing on the extremes.


Throughout my journey, I have realized the importance of empathy and how the solutions we create can positively impact society, enriching their lives. As an opportunity for growth, I have noticed that many adults between the ages of 30 and 50 are also experiencing feelings of loneliness. Therefore, extending a solution like this to a younger segment could be highly beneficial.


After a year spent researching the problem area, interviewing users, and iterating the design, I had the most enjoyable experience during the testing phase with users. The insights I gained from this process were truly mind-blowing.


Designing the interface for this particular user segment was a challenging and interesting task. The presence of accessibility constraints and technology constraints led to a deeper understanding of how to build a user-friendly product for people of all ages by focusing on the extremes.


Throughout my journey, I have realized the importance of empathy and how the solutions we create can positively impact society, enriching their lives. As an opportunity for growth, I have noticed that many adults between the ages of 30 and 50 are also experiencing feelings of loneliness. Therefore, extending a solution like this to a younger segment could be highly beneficial.


Other Projects

B2C

Fintech

Online banking portal

Revamped pre-login product discovery, achieving 40% increase in conversions

As a design lead, I led research and strategy to design intuitive interface by building scalable design system. It resulted in 28% decrease in dropout rates.

IDFC First Bank

Work Experience

B2C

Fintech

Online banking portal

Revamped pre-login product discovery, achieving 40% increase in conversions

As a design lead, I led research and strategy to design intuitive interface by building scalable design system. It resulted in 28% decrease in dropout rates.

IDFC First Bank

Work Experience

B2C

B2C

Online banking portal

Revamped pre-login product discovery, achieving 40% increase in conversions

IDFC First Bank

Work Experience

That was a lot of scrolling;
wanna hire me?

Now actively seeking new opportunities.
Think I'd be a good fit for your team?

Open to relocate | Hybrid | Remote

nilomizavery@gmail.com

Nilomi Zavery © 2024

Based in USA

Socials

That was a lot of scrolling;
wanna hire me?

Now actively seeking new opportunities.
Think I'd be a good fit for your team?

Open to relocate | Hybrid | Remote

nilomizavery@gmail.com

Nilomi Zavery © 2024

Based in USA

Socials

That was a lot of scrolling;
wanna hire me?

Now actively seeking new opportunities.
Think I'd be a good fit for your team?

Open to relocate | Hybrid | Remote

nilomizavery@gmail.com

Nilomi Zavery © 2024

Based in USA

Socials

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