Successful Ageing:

How to encourage an intergenerational relationship via 

a digital platform that combines personal stories & food.

TL;DR

This app and research were made for Bezalel as my graduation project and mentored by Roee Bigger. To elaborate please open the link below. For the shorter version: keep scrolling! 

Research (Theoretical, Market, Users)

Design thinking

UX Design

Product Conception

Interaction Design

Visual Design

Information Architecture

Background

Life expectancy is significantly increasing each year and the population of senior citizens, aged 65 and over has increased over the years and will continue to do so in the future.  By the year 2030, this number is expected to reach 988 million, or 12% of the world population. More than 40% of the seniors report loneliness, lack of communication, and limited social communication. Loneliness is a human phenomenon with no age barrier.

putting emphasis on this phenomenon in old age shows that a combination of loneliness and various other processes (involving losses in various areas of life) creates and accelerates symptoms of physical and mental deterioration which influence the quality of life and life expectancy. The importance of quality of life is expressed in the well-known phrase “adding life to years and not just years to life”.  This is often a challenge in working with the elderly.

Kahana & Kahana

In 1996 Kahana & Kahana redefined the term “successful aging “They claimed that in order to maintain 3 parameters must exist

Main Focus

The study focused on finding possible solutions to improve mental wellbeing through sensory usage and reminiscing. Throughout the year, while learning about the experience of aging, I discovered that nostalgia and sharing memories can increase positive feelings thus creating meaning for the present. Whilst learning the theory,

I focused on food as a tool with all sensory abilities to evoke forgotten and formative memories.

The course of this research began before the Coronavirus and focused on the aging experience by interviewing 10 independent senior citizens with rich knowledge and experience.  I based my process on the double diamond approach and added another diamond to the center – when the Coronavirus began.  This challenging time forced me to find alternative paths due to isolation and unexpected quarantine.  The first phase included academic research, interviews with Gerontologists, Psychologists, service providers, nursing homes, etc. During the second phase of Covid-19, I used online tools, such as digital prototypes and

a quantitive survey in which 81 participants took part.

Reserach tools & Methods

Findings/ Risults

out of 8 interesting insights, I focused on 3 main ones towards forming a possible solution:

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       Another relevant finding was the importance of consistency in providing solutions:  One-time intervention will not create long-term and significant impact.

Findings/ Risults

The final outcome is a social food app for 2 target groups.  The first group is the elderly as content makers) who provide their knowledge, tips and rich experience in the kitchen.  The second group is the younger generation who consume the stories, recipes and to learn traditional methods.  The digital platform will form a strong base for intergenerational relationships and will offer the seniors an opportunity to share their life story alongside the dish through video, photos and text.

The Outcomes

This app is based on dual profile accounts (from young and senior family members) and thus offers a bridge to overcome generational, cultural, and technological gaps. The registration is open to the public but the uploading recipes will only be allowed for a dual profile in order to preserve the unique character of the platform

Information Architecture

PRESS A SQUARE IN THE PROCESS TO OPEN THE RELEVANT UX SCREEN. 

Onboarding, App Values

Registration Process

Adding a Family Member

In order to add a senior family member, there are 2 options: The most intuitive and easy way by pressing the top right corner on the Video icon. Another way would be via "My Account" under the settings. By sending the senior an invitation code the process is faster and saves them the firsts common steps. 

The process of uploading a new recipe is simple and guided. There are 2 parts: the first one is adding all the relevant information, and the second is to video the preparation. the adding will be done step by step (6 in total) in which the senior will provide the ingredients, instructions, photos (if any), name, and last but not least the chef's story behind the dish. This is the place to share their story;  What makes it special to you? what’s the story behind it? where it comes from? and when do you normally serve it? 

Uploading a Recipe

Uploading a Video

The last part would ask the users to add a video of the process: the filming will be done via the app using the phone camera and microphone. The editing will be done in the last phase just before the final upload. basic & familiar options will be used, such as stickers, filters, text, and scrabbling, to create a vivid and friendly interface. 

Dual Profile Account

This is the place to share the profile setting of both users; Besides short bio (name, age, etc.) it will show the account uploaded recipes, followers, and contact button. Our Story part will tell both family members stories including a shared gallery and videos. 

The recipes will be shown with the latest video on top. 

Colour Pallette

Choosing the colours at first was an important decision that would affect the rest of the UI later on. I wanted to choose soft, clean & calming colours so it will be easy and comfortable to read and follow the recipes. Some experiments were done in light pink as a background to achieve an old fashioned newspaper quality. 

Next to the main colours, I added one strong- bright tone to highlight important details (such as names, important CTA's, icons, etc.). After carefully selecting the final colour scheme I went for White, light gray, light pink, dark blue, and bright purple.  The app meant to serve both young and old people and therefore its appearance should be appealing and easy to use for both audiences. 

At this stage, since the main active users (uploading recipes etc.) are young I made the interface adapted to them. The font is relatively small and this will be (along with other challenges) something to test with real users in real-time and make adaptations according to the results. 

UI Screens Design

Few exemples for the homepage all with the same information and context. The choosen UI is the last framed image.