Our team discussed a few different ideas and quickly settled on the concept of helping elderly neighbors in our communities. We had seen this population suffer greatly from isolation during Covid (my own grandmother included), and after some initial research we discovered just how vulnerable this group really is.

And the consequences of this loneliness and isolation can be very detrimental to mental and physical health.

We believed we could find a solution to this loneliness using technology by encouraging non-seniors (volunteers) to sign up and connect with seniors in their area for social visits, but were other companies already doing something similar?

In our additional research we discovered some companies did aspects of what we were thinking, but not the complete package. For instance:

• Some matched volunteers with a senior, but NOT for social connection (physical healthcare only).
• All we found were paid services, but we wanted ours to be free to further foster the sense of social community.

We didn’t see anything quite like our concept in existence, so we moved forward.

We then did an extensive comparative analysis, reviewing brands that had similar aspects to their product: like those that match volunteers for services and have a vetting process of some sort (Boys and Girls Club or for healthcare, cleaning, nannying reasons) plus those that match people based on purely social preferences (dating and meeting apps).

We initially noted the vetting process these brands used to explain information to users as well as their vetting process and preferences options and questionnaire. We also noted any ways these brands gamified their experiences for users.

We then began the design phase of the project. We mapped out a simple user flow from both the volunteer’s and senior’s perspectives.

We also iterated on and developed a logo, branding, and design system of components and iconography that reflected the warm, casual tone we were looking for. We chose friendly, easy-to read typefaces and a vibrant, but warm color palette that would be appropriate for both the senior and the volunteer.

We conducted user testing on 10 users of our low-fidelity wireframe. Using an agile workflow and making quick iterations based on user testing, we were able to adjust the project’s direction and quickly implement changes into our high-fidelity prototype.

Safety Messaging
In user testing or low-fidelity wireframes, we learned that users DID feel our app was trustworthy and safe. This was something we tried very hard to convey, so we viewed this as a success.

Onboarding Process and User Flow
In our testing, users also told us the flow, onboarding process, and navigation was easy to use. Again, we viewed our work on this area as a sucess.

Selection of Preferences
One issue we did uncover had to do with a horizontal scroll feature in the part of the application where users select their preference. We initially used a horizontal scroll to present the volunteer’s preferences to reduce vertical space on the screen, but through user testing we discovered it wasn’t easy for them to interact with. They instead wanted to see ALL options at once before selecting any preferences, and the horizontal scroll wasn’t as intuitive as we had thought. We iterated on this issue and found a new solution, which we incorporated into the final prototype.