As part of a school project, my classmate and I designed "Memory Maker," a mobile application aimed at assisting Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers. We delved into extensive research, analyzed user needs, and developed a prototype that addresses memory preservation, cognitive stimulation, and daily care management.
Alzheimer's disease poses significant challenges for patients and their caretakers. Patients experience memory loss and cognitive decline, while caretakers manage complex care routines and provide emotional support, often with limited resources. These difficulties highlight the urgent need for tools that support memory preservation, cognitive stimulation, and simplify daily care management for both patients and their caregivers.
This app's goal was to be a central place for patients and their cargivers. By incorporating features like a memory journal, cognitive games, and caretaker tools such as medication tracking and activity planning, our goal was to enhance the quality of life for patients and alleviate some of the burdens faced by caretakers. Our focus was on delivering a compassionate solution that is accessible and tailored to the unique needs of both users.
Alzheimer's patients in the early to mid-stages are generally seniors who may have limited experience with technology. They benefit from simple, intuitive interfaces featuring large icons and minimal text to help them navigate apps comfortably. Designing with accessibility in mind is crucial to meet their needs for memory support and cognitive engagement.
We conducted thorough research and created user personas to understand the needs of Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers.
Utilizing our research insights, we developed elemental collages, process flows, and wireframes to design an intuitive and accessible app.
We built a functional prototype of the app, incorporating key features like the memory journal and tailoring interactions for patients and caretakers.
We evaluated the app by testing the prototype with stand-in users, gathering feedback to refine and improve the user experience.
When developing the app's structure, I began by creating user personas to understand the specific needs of Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers. I then crafted elemental collages to explore design styles that are calming and accessible. With a visual direction established, I developed process flows to outline the main interactions within the app, ensuring a smooth user experience. For example, caretakers can add medication schedules, whereas patients cannot access this feature. After finalizing the interactions, I created wireframes to lay out all the app's components. This gave me a clear overview of how the app would function, allowing me to adjust as necessary.
We conducted secondary research by exploring cognitive stimulation techniques and color psychology in dementia care. We also performed a competitive analysis, evaluating current tools and apps used in Alzheimer's care, such as cognitive games, health management systems, and social platforms. This analysis revealed that existing solutions often lack simplicity and can overwhelm users. Few apps offer dual interfaces catering separately to patients and caretakers, and there is a noticeable gap in tools that support both memory preservation and caretaker management in one place.
In the design phase of the Memory Maker project, we placed a strong emphasis on creating a visual aesthetic that would be soothing and accessible for Alzheimer's patients. Research into color psychology, especially in dementia care, guided our choice of a soft pink as the primary color for the app. Pink is known to provide a sense of calm and has been shown to reduce feelings of aggression and anxiety among individuals with Alzheimer's. By incorporating this gentle hue, we aimed to create a calming environment that would not overstimulate or overwhelm users.
We complemented the soft pink with other tranquil colors like greens and blues, which promote feelings of relaxation and serenity. These colors were used strategically throughout the app to highlight different sections without causing confusion. The overall design featured minimalistic elements, ample white space, and rounded shapes to enhance readability and ease of navigation. Our goal was to ensure that the interface not only looked appealing but also contributed to a stress-free user experience, thereby supporting the emotional well-being of both patients and their caretakers.
A significant constraint we faced was the inability to access real-life Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers for direct input. This limitation prevented us from conducting interviews and gathering firsthand insights from our primary target audience before and during the design process. As a result, we had to rely heavily on secondary research and assumptions based on existing literature, which may not fully capture the nuanced needs and preferences of actual users. This constraint challenged us to be extra diligent in our empathy and design decisions, but we recognize that direct user feedback would have enriched our understanding and potentially led to a more effective solution.
One challenge was creating an interface that balanced functionality with ease of use. We had to design different interactions for patients and caretakers—for instance, allowing caretakers to add or manage medication schedules while preventing patients from accessing this feature to avoid any accidental changes. Ensuring that both user groups could navigate the app seamlessly demanded careful planning and user flow design.
Looking to the future, we recognize the importance of enhancing the app's accessibility features to better serve our users' diverse needs. We hope to include more customization options, such as the ability to adjust font sizes and choose between different contrast settings, to accommodate users with visual impairments or reading difficulties. Incorporating these features would make the app more inclusive and user-friendly, allowing individuals to tailor the interface to their comfort levels.
I designed a user-friendly mobile application that supports Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers, effectively meeting the project's objectives. We addressed the main challenges faced by our target users, resulting in an improved overall user experience. Understanding the constraints, such as not having access to real-life patients and caretakers, we focused on creating an intuitive design. In the future, I plan to add more accessibility options, like adjustable font sizes, to enhance usability. Through this project, I learned the importance of empathy in design and the value of creating accessible solutions for users with unique needs.