EmotiCom

People are getting older and older. However, with this old age comes not only a decline in people’s physical health and abilities, but also a decline in the amount of social interaction they have. Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions. To design an interactive product using for the lonely elderly who are unfamiliar with modern technology to help them connect better with their family & friends

EXPERTISE:

Creativity & Aesthetics

Technology & Realization

User & Society

14/02/2020 - 21/06/2020

ROLE:

Human Technology Interaction

User Research

User Interaction design

Aesthetics of Interaction design

Design thinking

EmotiCom is the next-generation vintage communication device. This device will connect the elderly in the family with their loved ones via photo-communication. Due to a lack of understanding of modern technology, or the busy times we live in, the connection with our grandparents can get deteriorated. The vintage-like design, together with the application of a polaroid camera and a projector refers to the old times, adding up to the elderly’s happiness and understandability of the concept. The device allows the elderly to send and receive pictures in a loving and understandable way, with the addition of a physical contact list, which represents family members. You will receive a picture of your grandparents and the projector will project your picture in a warm and loving way, making the elderly feel more visually connected with the family, resolving the feeling of loneliness or detachment.

PROJECT GOAL

It is our ultimate goal to enhance sociability in between families, as we believe the growth towards a more technologically advanced society and the busy times we live in has a negative influence on the connection between elderly and their loved ones

Our design, EmotiCom is a device which sets up a fun and loving photo-communication in between families, in combination with an app which can be downloaded by the younger generations to respond to the elderly

PROBLEMS

More than 40 percent of seniors regularly experience loneliness, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study. Over half (51%) of all people aged 75 and over live alone (Office for National Statistics 2010. General Lifestyle

Lowering the bar for communication, to bring out emotions through the usage of facial expressions and colors.

OPPORTUNITY

Acoording to Izard (1980) Facial expression is pancultural, and assumed to be more universal to apply than body languages.

Psychologist Robert Plutchik (1980) (figure 17). Colors are linked to specific emotions which would eliminate misunderstandings

IDEATIONS

The result from the first ideation session

The lo-fi prototype to explore movability

Concept design of simplEmotion

Concept design of EmotiCom

Working on this project during COVID-19 was a hassle since there was much compromise on the basis of teamwork. During this project, I aimed to provide user research, and work on UX/UI design of the app prototype. I focused on developing, the creativity & aesthetics aspect along with user & society. Working with such a vulnerable target group, and thinking in terms of comfort, playfulness and ease helped me to place myselg in the shoes of the target group. This process was enjoyable and encouraged me to learn further. Being the first project in my first year, It helped me to pursue my interests in health and vitality section of the study.

Accuracy of the emotions

Here is the final report of EmotiCom: Click Here

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