Old is Gold
Design Team Project - Fall 2020
Connecting the Generations through Light & Affect with RGB Touch Lamps
My Role
Product Designer | Team Leader (Rotating) | Researcher | Report Writer
Skills
Engineering Design | Product Design | Research and Ethnography | CAD: Rhino 7 | Rendering: Unreal Engine | Teamwork
Project Goal
Social distancing measures imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19 have compounded preexisting social issues causing unprecedentedly high levels of loneliness and isolation in older adults. While feelings of loneliness and social isolation were widespread in older adults before the pandemic, social distancing measures implemented to combat COVID-19 have caused rates of loneliness in older adults to grow to heights never before thought possible. As the quarantine regulations due to the pandemic continue, there is a worry that the lack of connectivity and loneliness will begin to affect the individual's long-term health.
Our team, Old is Gold, aimed to design a product to help alleviate the feelings of social isolation and loneliness in older adults who are physically isolated from their families.
Final Product
The Collection
Our proposed design is a pair of wirelessly connected lamps which we call “touch lamps.” For each pair of lamps, one would be given to an older adult and the other to a younger family relative. The two lamps are connected in a way so that if one user changes the color or brightness of their lamp, the other lamp in the pair is changed as well.
We intend for users to use these simple controls to create a meaningful, “low-bandwidth” communication language. The hope is that our lamps will allow older adults to maintain consistent, effortless, and meaningful social connections with their younger relatives despite physical separation.
Design Process
Cross's Integrated Model
For our design process, we used the French model (shown on the right), where the circles represent stages reached, or outputs, and the rectangles represent activities or work in progress. The other model that we took inspiration from was Archer’s three-phase summary model. We decided to incorporate the creative phase of analysis, synthesis, and development into our process by having two activities of reflection and evaluation that also connect back into feedback, so that we can improve our design work.
Continuous Background Reserach
The most important part of this project was background research. It was vital to the success of this project that we understood our target user group. Without knowing their likes, dislikes, and day-to-day activities we would be unable to design a product that could integrate into their lifestyles.
The team's research draws from academic sources, popular sources, and first-hand interviews with members of the target demographic. If you are interested, a summary of the group's research can be found in the "background" section of the report liked at the bottom of this page.
Problem Definition
We aimed to design something that allows our target users to easily and effortlessly have meaningful social interactions with their younger relatives while staying physically distant. So, secondarily, we are also designing for the families of these older adults who will likely be users of our final design. Because of this, we must make sure that our design is “child”-friendly, and works for those on both sides of the social interaction.
How can we create a meaningful yet effortless method of communication between older adults and their younger relatives that facilitates meaningful social connection and encourages phone conversation? How can we accomplish this with a physical product that doesn’t require technological expertise? How can we ensure our product encourages, not replaces, further interaction through phone conversation?
Concept Generation
After solidifying a problem space and problem statement, the team moved onto concept design. In this phase, we generated broad problem solutions in the form of schemes utilizing by analyzing stakeholders, creating an objective tree, and organizing and brainstorming with a mind map. The team initially selected the "Wizard's Chess" idea since we felt it most adequately responded to our user's needs.
Rapid Prototyping and Survey
To gain initial user feedback, the team constructed low fidelity foam core prototypes of our most promising ideas and used them as a part of a hands-on survey of older adults.
After carefully evaluating the preliminary survey, the team unanimously believed the touch lamp idea offers the greatest potential. The users claimed it was a good method to increase connection and interaction with family members. They were able to visualize themselves interacting with it as if it were a normal lamp, but also a form of casual communication.
Concept Development
After selecting the touch lamp idea, the team continued to refine the concept with additional sketching and brainstorming.
The team utilized Mural, a virtual whiteboarding tool, as a way to work collaboratively in a virtual environment. This allowed us to organize our thoughts and ideas in a communal space as we continued to develop our concepts.
At this stage, the team was designed with four major user groups in mind: Children, Teens, Adults, and Older Adults.
Finishing Touches and Additional Prototyping
After the team had a solid idea of the product we were creating, we focused on the finer details of the product. We spent considerable time focusing on uniformity across our various lamp designs. We wanted them to feel connected, and so focused on creating a unified base and interface design.
On the left is an early wood prototype of a base design. This was used to gather user feedback on the optimal interface angle.
Various different base shapes were considered and rendered before making a final decision.
In the design of our interface, we paid special attention to accessibility. We made sure that the interaction method (touch screen) was older-adult friendly, and that tactile feedback was included for those with poor vision.
After finalization, the team modeled the final lamp designs in Rhino and rendered them using Unreal Engine.
Lessons Learned
My biggest takeaway from this project was the importance of not getting attached to an idea. In the beginning of the semester, I really wanted to work on our hybrid game idea. I wanted to try to do some coding, with UI/UX for websites/apps, and create a virtual functioning prototype. I thought the idea was really good because it was something that I really wanted and would use in my own life. But after our first user survey, I realized that our users didn’t want the same thing I did. Allowing our project to evolve based on user feedback, and not staying attached to our initial idea even though I really wanted to was very important to our success. So, my biggest takeaway is the importance of not getting fixated on a single solution. Instead, it is important to explore and allow a project to evolve naturally.