Kin
Connecting seniors through social media
Team
Anmol Sekhon
Jinyu Guo
Karanjit Singh
Timeline
Oct - Dec 2023
3 Months
Deliverables
User Flow
Wireframes
App Prototype
Platforms
Figma
ProtoPie
Project Overview
This 3 month project was done for a senior design course at Simon Fraser University. Kin is a social media app that allows seniors to connect with their loved ones in order to stay connected. The app allows users to share parts of their lives, communicate with loved ones, and be a part of family events.
My Impact
Working with two other designers, I took a lead role in the aesthetics and interface of the app. After conducting research, I made key decisions in specific styles, creating wireframes and mockups with Figma, and did usability testing using ProtoPie to further refine the interface and address any concerns.
Problem Space
Using the target group, I conducted research to identify any problems and simply look at data to guide the project. After some analysis, I was presented with this statistic that ultimately drove our project to a social media platform.
"[A] report indicated that almost 1 out of 4 community dwelling older Americans, adults aged over 65 living outside of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, are socially isolated, and almost half of those over age 60 reported feeling lonely."
-Strengthening Social Connections in Older Adults
User Personas
Based on the research, I created personas on the intended users to focus on their perspective and needs. Randy and Elizabeth are both grandparents but would like to be more involved in their kids' lives and social activities.
Brainstorming Designs
Our team and I brainstormed initial designs of the app on Figma with individual color palettes and styles. I designed the first one on the left and ultimately, with the feedback from the teaching team, combined various aspects of each design. It was also decided upon that Kin would be a social media app because of the various connection features that seniors would be able to use.
Interactive Prototype
Once the features of the app were created, we created an initial prototype. Here, I made some of the wireframes for the prototype such as the calendar page and connected the pages using ProtoPie to get the app working.
Usability Testing
I conducted user interviews with 3 seniors that were over 60 years old and allowed them to explore the app. Interviews were done individually with me with a pre test questionnaire followed by completing certain tasks all while I recorded notes. This testing was to help us refine the interface, flow, and resolve any confusion in order to have a more enjoyable experience.
Feedback
The usability testing yielded helpful results and feedback from which my team and I analyzed and resolved. The issues involved confusing symbols, too small or large icons, and a few flow issues. Taking these notes, I resolved these in the final interface.
Final Solution
With the usability testing results along with the university teaching team’s feedback, my team and I created Kin, a mobile social media application that targets seniors to help them foster closer connections with their loved ones and be more part of their lives.
Reflection
This 3-month project introduced me to the basic concepts of UX/UI design and helped me gain confidence as a designer. I learned the importance of design choices and the reasoning behind every decision. Working in a team taught me the value of collaborating toward a shared vision and the importance of receiving and applying feedback effectively. In this project, I created wireframes, prototyped designs on ProtoPie, conducted usability testing, and refined the interface into the final version.
If this course project had more time, I would have really liked to conduct usability testing on a larger scale to work on the interface. This data would also have helped with how successful the app would be and if any changes were necessary or how we could help make the Kin more accessible.