Team members:
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<aside> <img src="/icons/pin_red.svg" alt="/icons/pin_red.svg" width="40px" /> Outline the key features of your solution and the significance of why you implemented them.
Collaborative curation and exploration are the two key philosophies behind our app. On one hand, we wanted caregivers and loved ones of Alzheimer’s patients to collaborate on daily “time-capsules” of media, text, and audio fragments that are preserved for the patient’s reflection; on the other hand, we wanted Alzheimer’s patients to access these memories in an effortless manner.
Since the Alzheimer’s patient is likely older and less likely to be technically inclined (according to research stats), their account setup is handled by the caregiver. On the Alzheimer’s patient’s device, the caregiver or the patient only needs to enter an invitation code that links their profiles. Inviting family members or loved ones also relies on invitation codes, ensuring quick connectivity.
Key features surrounding the Quilt curation are photos, videos, music, audio, and text. These mediums were employed following our research on reminiscence therapy; it was suggested that multi-sensory stimulation, especially that from music and photographs, strengthened the therapy’s impact, resulting in improved cognition, mood, and memory.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/color-palette_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/color-palette_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> Explain the reasoning behind your visual design choices.
Understanding our users was critical in informing our visual design choices. Since our application would be used by (a) caregivers or loved ones of Alzheimer’s patients, and (b), Alzheimer’s patients, we understood that there would be a separation of needs across different UX principles like accessibility, information hierarchy, and navigation. A challenge that came with this was balancing our design language for both sets of users while accommodating the individual needs surrounding information and UX, i.e simplifying data-heavy modules for Alzheimer’s patients, who tend to be older adults. For users with Alzheimer’s, this resulted in a touch-first approach, with minimal to no complex interactions.
Quilt is visually soothing and is intended to evoke a feeling of serenity and reflection. The muted colors and smooth, form-fitting tiles that comprise the app allow for a pleasurable and satisfying experience, both for the caregiver and Alzheimer patient. The dynamic Quilt curator allows for effortless curation and collaboration, while the resulting Quilt utilizes the power of beautiful design to preserve precious moments from the user’s day.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/paste_blue.svg" alt="/icons/paste_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Describe how you adapted the research insights you received to inform your design decisions.
As mentioned above, we found that Alzheimer’s patients tend to be older adults, with a significant amount being over 75 years old. This meant that our design needed to apply UX principles that catered to senior individuals. Actions and navigation needed to be intuitive such that the user should not have to think very hard to perform the actions we would like them to. Minimal high contrast buttons with larger text were employed with no gestural interactions that may confuse the user. Additionally, we found that older users typically required more accessibility accommodations, which we consolidated by allowing the caregiver to customize their patient’s view with enhanced sizing, contrast, and colors. Although the resulting Alzheimer’s user view is simpler in theory, it required far more research to get to that point.
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