This is my M.A. Thesis Project (M.A. Interactive Media Arts at NYU Tisch).
I designed a digital tool - an app and a TV plug-in program with a functional voice UI built in. Utilizing nature therapy and music therapy, it aims to enhance mental & physical wellbeing for the elderly by helping them sleep, relax and refresh through an audio-visual experience.
Timeline: Jan 2023 - Jun 2023
The Intention & Audience
Both my grandpa father side and grandma mother side lost their significant other in the recent years. They both are starting to live alone and trying to adapt. My grandma, especially, encounters sleep problems - has to rely on melatonin. Post-covid they are also facing a change to their lifestyle - spending more time at home and feeling less sense of companionship.
Because of personal reasons, I want to use my previous knowledge and experience on product design, in addition to what I learned from this master’s program on interactive media, to create something meaningful and make their daily life better.
Another intention is that I want to explore the topic of technology on the elder generation, especially how we can use technology to its most optimal extent so that elders would not feel overwhelmed.
Targeting Audience of my Product:
- Living-alone elderly (but not limited to living-alone)
- Over the age of 75
- Independent and with optimal medical health conditions
- Able to hear, see and talk well enough
The Ideation Process
I followed the HCD process and the Lean Methodology - making, testing and iterating small things rapidly. The goal is to create a therapeutic or meditative experience at home that enhances the elderly’s mental wellbeing, especially to reduce their anxiety, loneliness, and help them sleep well. However, I started off without any idea on the form: a smart-home device, a wearable, an app, a game or a digital service? So the first step I took was scientific research on lots of the emerging fancy things: AR/VR and immersive/interactive technology in healthcare, at-home installations, and different therapy types. All of them centered on the main big topic: elderly mental wellbeing.
For organization, I added all my research materials that include visual inspirations, similar projects, articles and academic journals to the Arena board: https://www.are.na/share/RzfiSLc (a moodboard-looking collection of the references)
Next is interviewing. I did one-on-one talk with my grandpa and grandma, aiming to gauge their daily activities, needs and goals. Top 3 needs are: 1) Improve mood 2) Improve physical health - sleep & fitness 3) Improve social interactions
I also talked with the faculty from the NYU Aging Incubator, which I utilized as my professional resource and expertise. Talking with doctors and nurses offered me insights on therapy, meditation and technology’s role on mental wellness. Our conversation reinforces my idea of using nature & music therapy for my video content. They encouraged me to explore more about music therapy, which helps people remember their young age, decrease loneliness, feel better and connected. I also learned that the level of interactivity and immersion can be minimized for the elderly group of audience.
Then, I started making little things - moodboard, storyboard, and video content, as part of my brainstorming & iteration process. This consisted of some initial trials-and-errors.
Moodboard represents the color theme and how I imagined the visuals to be like. I wasn't sure if I wanted real nature landscapes or tech/immersive nature.
Storyboard showed how I imagined the elderly is using this product; at first I wanted it to have a "social" feature. Even though the form was unclear, the setting should be at home, so I made it like a projector-style with mobile control + an audio chatting function.
The video was an experimentation of the audio-visual experience. I filmed some nature content, added a soothing BGM of my choice, and cut it all together using video-editing software.
Afterwards, I conducted a survey within the Chinese elderly community, since my grandparents are Chinese. NYU Aging Incubator provided feedback & guidance on my survey questions and helped me rephrase them in a way to generate more significant data. I received 150 responses, and 98 of them are above the age of 65.
Key Insights:
- Positive response on the effectiveness of nature & music to help alleviate anxiety and loneliness
- Strong preference on mobile and TV as the form of display & interface
Results from the survey eventually led to my final decision on the product form: I'm going to make the product available as both a mobile app and a TV service. Nature and music will be the main elements in the video content.
Prototyping & Testing
My project would consist of 2 parts: creating an idea of the audio-visual content, and designing the product interface (app and TV).
First, I wanted feedback on my video content. I started the curating process of selecting available videos online. I collected both 3-hr long sessions (no guidance or words but solely instrumental music + nature scene), and 15-20 min short sessions (music+nature with guided meditation, mindfulness quotes, or positivity boost).
After user testings, the results are: 1) Curated videos more effective than the one I made 2) All feel more relaxed & calm afterwards 3) Prefer it be a 1-person experience, so I decided not to have the "social" feature 4) The 3-hr longer sessions are more popular for sleeping, since many Chinese elders are new to meditation but some are curious to try out.
Sample Visuals: slow motion with instrumental music
Unlike the usual video-watching experience, I added in a programmed voice control. I utilized p5.js and its speech recognition function to code for a voice control on the sounds of nature, to enrich the user experience by adding in some level of immersion. There are 5 types of nature sounds available to choose from: bird, creek, ocean waves, rain, and wind. The user can hear the sound of choice by saying it anytime during the video watching.
Then, I worked on the interface design. To make it more elderly-friendly, I decided to get rid of the search bar (typing for content they want) which usually appears in video apps. Instead, I made a tool bar to divide content by types - categorize each division (sleep, meditate, energy) by nature type or user needs, so it’s clear and easy to navigate.
Mobile APP Screens
TV Screens
User testings on the UI design with my family members, especially my grandma. They were smiling while watching and really enjoyed the experience.
Delivering
Concept Video: using storytelling to depict the overall user experience
I delivered a 10-min presentation to fellow students, instructors and program faculty. Also I participated in the 2-day Thesis Show at NYU Shanghai campus: about 500 people came to this exhibition to express interest, learn about our projects and try out the products we made.
Thesis Presentation
Show day: people trying out my programmed voice command
Please refer to the published Thesis Archive page for more details & information about my project: https://itp.nyu.edu/lowres/thesisarchive2023/?daisy-lu
Next Steps
1. More user testings & iterations so it can benefit more elders other than my grandma and grandpa
2. Available in different languages for better accessibility
3. Connect the UI with video content - making everything fully functional, which means more refined APP development
4. Can we launch it in the near future?
Special Thanks to
Thesis Advisors: Sarah Rothberg, Allison Parrish, Sharleen Smith
Residents: Brian Ho, Doro Do, Beth Fileti
Thesis Mentor: Jon Wasserman
