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UI Challenge
UI Challenge
Case Study
Case Study
CLIENT
CLIENT
IFP Festival
IFP Festival
DURATION
DURATION
11 August, 2024
11 August, 2024
XYZ
XYZ
Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum
Context
Context
This project was completed during the 50-hour design challenge at the IFP Festival 2024, with over X participants. In this case study, I highlight the key challenges I encountered and walk through my in-depth problem-solving process, culminating in a final look at the app.
This project was completed during the 50-hour design challenge at the IFP Festival 2024, with over X participants. In this case study, I highlight the key challenges I encountered and walk through my in-depth problem-solving process, culminating in a final look at the app.
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
India faces a significant demographic shift with its elderly population growing rapidly. With changing family structures and increasing lifespans, seniors today need solutions that support their independence while ensuring their wellbeing.
Core Challenge: How might we help seniors maintain their independence and quality of life while aging, in a way that provides both them and their loved ones peace of mind? [Photo]
India faces a significant demographic shift with its elderly population growing rapidly. With changing family structures and increasing lifespans, seniors today need solutions that support their independence while ensuring their wellbeing.
Core Challenge: How might we help seniors maintain their independence and quality of life while aging, in a way that provides both them and their loved ones peace of mind? [Photo]
With my anecdotal experiences and observing the elderly, these were the branches of thoughts that were sparked by this problem statement:
Medication and Health Management
Safety during an emergency
Daily Assistance if someone’s living alone and far from their family
Social Connection and Community
Mental Health and Loneliness
With my anecdotal experiences and observing the elderly, these were the branches of thoughts that were sparked by this problem statement:
Medication and Health Management
Safety during an emergency
Daily Assistance if someone’s living alone and far from their family
Social Connection and Community
Mental Health and Loneliness
Approach
Approach
To tackle this complex challenge in the 50-hour timeframe, I followed a structured design process:
Research & Discovery Deep-dive into existing elder care solutions, market research, and analysis of user pain points through secondary research and competitor analysis.
Ideation & Strategy Extensive brainstorming to identify potential solutions, prioritizing features that would create maximum impact while remaining accessible and user-friendly for seniors.
Design Evolution Started with quick sketches to explore various user flows and interface options, iterating based on core usability principles for elderly users.
Final Design Solution Developed a dual-interface solution focusing on simplicity, visibility, and ease of use, ensuring both seniors and their caregivers can engage effectively with the platform.
To tackle this complex challenge in the 50-hour timeframe, I followed a structured design process:
Research & Discovery Deep-dive into existing elder care solutions, market research, and analysis of user pain points through secondary research and competitor analysis.
Ideation & Strategy Extensive brainstorming to identify potential solutions, prioritizing features that would create maximum impact while remaining accessible and user-friendly for seniors.
Design Evolution Started with quick sketches to explore various user flows and interface options, iterating based on core usability principles for elderly users.
Final Design Solution Developed a dual-interface solution focusing on simplicity, visibility, and ease of use, ensuring both seniors and their caregivers can engage effectively with the platform.
Helping Elderly to 'Remember to Remember'
Helping Elderly to 'Remember to Remember'
The WhatsApp Story: Meeting Users Where They Are Problem: During research, I noticed that dedicated health apps often go unused - notifications get buried and app icons forgotten. Yet, I observed how comfortably seniors use WhatsApp daily for family connections. Insight: Why force new habits when we can leverage existing ones? Solution: By extending our reminders to WhatsApp, we created a familiar environment for medication tracking. Users receive reminders where they're already active and can respond with simple confirmations like "Taken" - no new app learning required.
The WhatsApp Story: Meeting Users Where They Are Problem: During research, I noticed that dedicated health apps often go unused - notifications get buried and app icons forgotten. Yet, I observed how comfortably seniors use WhatsApp daily for family connections. Insight: Why force new habits when we can leverage existing ones? Solution: By extending our reminders to WhatsApp, we created a familiar environment for medication tracking. Users receive reminders where they're already active and can respond with simple confirmations like "Taken" - no new app learning required.
The Visual Recognition Challenge: Beyond Text Problem: Even with clear reminders, seniors struggled to identify correct medications. Names like "Metformin 500mg" meant little to some users, leading to confusion or incorrect doses. Insight: Visual memory often remains stronger than text recall in aging minds. Solution: We added medicine shape and color identification - "the round orange pill" becomes more recognizable than "Metformin". This visual aid provides an intuitive second layer of verification, reducing medication errors.
The Visual Recognition Challenge: Beyond Text Problem: Even with clear reminders, seniors struggled to identify correct medications. Names like "Metformin 500mg" meant little to some users, leading to confusion or incorrect doses. Insight: Visual memory often remains stronger than text recall in aging minds. Solution: We added medicine shape and color identification - "the round orange pill" becomes more recognizable than "Metformin". This visual aid provides an intuitive second layer of verification, reducing medication errors.
The Maintenance Dilemma: Sharing the Load Problem: The responsibility of setting up and maintaining medication schedules often overwhelmed elderly users, leading to outdated or incorrect information. Insight: Family members were already involved in health management - why not digitally? Solution: Created a dual interface where trusted family members can manage schedules remotely, ensuring the app stays current while preserving the senior's independence in taking medications.
The Maintenance Dilemma: Sharing the Load Problem: The responsibility of setting up and maintaining medication schedules often overwhelmed elderly users, leading to outdated or incorrect information. Insight: Family members were already involved in health management - why not digitally? Solution: Created a dual interface where trusted family members can manage schedules remotely, ensuring the app stays current while preserving the senior's independence in taking medications.
Redefining Elder Support with Youth-Led Communities
Redefining Elder Support with Youth-Led Communities
The Isolation Challenge I observed how seniors often face growing isolation - simple tasks like changing a light bulb or getting groceries become challenging. While family members can't always be present, seniors need reliable help without compromising their safety or dignity.
Exploring Solutions My first instinct was to create a gamified volunteering platform, where young people could earn points helping seniors. However, this raised critical questions:
What would motivate youth to download yet another app?
How would we ensure consistent volunteer availability?
Most importantly, how could we guarantee volunteer trustworthiness?
I then considered an email-based volunteer system but faced similar trust and reliability challenges. The core issue remained: ensuring safety while connecting vulnerable seniors with strangers.
The NGO Partnership Solution The breakthrough came from realizing we didn't need to build a volunteer network from scratch. By partnering with an established pan-India NGO, we could tap into:
Pre-vetted, trained youth volunteers
Existing safety protocols and background checks
Consistent volunteer availability
Professional oversight
This approach transformed an ambitious community feature into a practical, trustworthy service that seniors and their families could rely on.
The Isolation Challenge I observed how seniors often face growing isolation - simple tasks like changing a light bulb or getting groceries become challenging. While family members can't always be present, seniors need reliable help without compromising their safety or dignity.
Exploring Solutions My first instinct was to create a gamified volunteering platform, where young people could earn points helping seniors. However, this raised critical questions:
What would motivate youth to download yet another app?
How would we ensure consistent volunteer availability?
Most importantly, how could we guarantee volunteer trustworthiness?
I then considered an email-based volunteer system but faced similar trust and reliability challenges. The core issue remained: ensuring safety while connecting vulnerable seniors with strangers.
The NGO Partnership Solution The breakthrough came from realizing we didn't need to build a volunteer network from scratch. By partnering with an established pan-India NGO, we could tap into:
Pre-vetted, trained youth volunteers
Existing safety protocols and background checks
Consistent volunteer availability
Professional oversight
This approach transformed an ambitious community feature into a practical, trustworthy service that seniors and their families could rely on.
Dual Portal
Dual Portal
Understanding the Challenge While designing for seniors, I realized our biggest competitor wasn't other apps - it was the humble pen and paper. When technology becomes more complex than writing things down, users naturally revert to familiar methods. Additionally, seniors often struggled to consistently maintain their digital health records and schedules.
The Family Connection The solution emerged from a simple observation: family members were already actively involved in managing their elderly relatives' health. Why not give them the digital tools to do it better?
Creating Two Paths I designed a dual interface approach:
Seniors get a simplified view focused on receiving reminders and taking action
Family members get expanded access to:
Set up medication schedules
Add and manage appointments
Monitor medicine compliance
Receive SOS alerts with location data
Access emergency updates through camera and mic
This approach maintains seniors' independence in daily tasks while giving loved ones peace of mind and the ability to provide meaningful support from anywhere.
Understanding the Challenge While designing for seniors, I realized our biggest competitor wasn't other apps - it was the humble pen and paper. When technology becomes more complex than writing things down, users naturally revert to familiar methods. Additionally, seniors often struggled to consistently maintain their digital health records and schedules.
The Family Connection The solution emerged from a simple observation: family members were already actively involved in managing their elderly relatives' health. Why not give them the digital tools to do it better?
Creating Two Paths I designed a dual interface approach:
Seniors get a simplified view focused on receiving reminders and taking action
Family members get expanded access to:
Set up medication schedules
Add and manage appointments
Monitor medicine compliance
Receive SOS alerts with location data
Access emergency updates through camera and mic
This approach maintains seniors' independence in daily tasks while giving loved ones peace of mind and the ability to provide meaningful support from anywhere.
