2 Days in 2023
An app catering exclusively to the needs of seniors in a world where most current apps only cater to youngsters and seniors often feel left out.
The Overview
During my vacation, I stayed with my grandmother and noticed something interesting. While she had finally gotten the hang of using her smartphone and loved it, I observed her squinting and feeling a bit uncomfortable while using her regular apps. When I asked her about it, she replied, "I can't seem to make the text bigger in my app, and what are these shapes(she was talking about icon's)?" That got me thinking, and the rest,...........well keep reading to find out what happened next!
My Role
Personal UX project
The Assumption
To validate this assumption, I decided to explore whether this is indeed a problem that I can solve or if it remains as just an assumption.
Many of the apps that currently exist are not entirely inclusive towards seniors, as they are typically designed with a younger population in mind.
Impact
With Buddy, seniors have their very own app tailored to meet their everyday needs.
The Research
Turns out my grandmother is not alone, according to an article by Nielsen and Norman Group, "Users ages 65 and older face unique challenges when using websites and apps. Digital literacy among this demographic is rising, but designs need to accommodate aging users."
This led me to conduct some secondary research, that helped me identify few key gaps/problems in current apps, and categorized them into three themes.
The Problem
After the research I was able to conclude that it indeed was a problem. Hence the problem statement is, "The current generation of apps are not fully optimized to meet the unique needs of seniors, leading to a lack of interest among seniors to adopt technology. This, in turn, creates a struggle for seniors to use these applications as part of their daily routine."
The Scope
Once I identified the problem, I realized the importance of narrowing down the scope of my project before beginning to work on a solution. As a designer and a grandson, I was determined to create an app that would cater to the unique needs of seniors. Given the limited resources and experimental nature of the project, defining the scope was crucial to ensure its feasibility.
Through research, I identified the top three needs/tasks that seniors commonly perform on their mobile phones, and used this information to guide the design of the app.



The Solution
Buddy is a solution that caters to seniors and their daily needs.
The Learnings
The idea for developing Buddy came from a personal experience, and being able to use my UX skills to create a solution was incredibly satisfying.
Through secondary research and design, I was able to develop a functional app that caters specifically to seniors. I completed the project in two days, which allowed me to practice my skills and refine the app's to the best of my abilities with the resources in hand.
One unique aspect of Buddy is that it may not appear visually appealing at first glance, but that was intentional. The ultimate goal was to create a functional app that caters to seniors and makes their lives easier.
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