AYUSHA MEHROTRA
UX / UI Designer & Strategist
Loneliness & Social Isolation in People with Disability
Project Timeline
10 weeks
My Role
Design Strategist,
UX Designer
Tools
Figma, Keynote
InDesign, Imovies,
Miro.
Team
Sidhant Chopra & Ayusha Mehrotra
“ We live in a society bloated with data yet starved for wisdom. We're connected 24/7, yet anxiety, fear, depression and loneliness is at an all-time high. We must course-correct." -Elizabeth Lindsey
Trend Identification
We identified current trends that are happening across the globe and narrowed down on our common trends that were focused on loneliness, accessibility, micro breaks, mental health and the need to create an inclusive society.
1.0 Loneliness
Problem
A 2019 study showed that, “nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone. Due to advancement in technology, the interaction between people is reducing everyday. his ease of technology has greatly impacted the social aspect of the society leading people to feel lonely.
Audience
Prioritise everyone, and bridge the gap between people who feel lonely and people who genuinely love organic interactions and value it in this tech based world.
Opportunities
Change behaviour and inspire people to have healthy and positive interactions with each other so as to tackle the problem of loneliness with the help of games, events, apps (incase of distance).
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2.0 Inclusion Opportunity
Problem
Unlike the majority of able-bodied people, people with disabilities must put a great deal of planning into every errand. Rather than assuming that locations can accommodate them, many have to assume they won’t and plan with this in mind. With depression rates being anywhere from 2 to 10 times higher in people with disabilities, social exclusion is often a serious contributing factor.
Audience
People with disability
Opportunities
Design for all will ramp up as universal design strategies are adopted by governments, institutes and brands alike. As consumer demand for all inclusive design grows, human diversity will be recognized and celebrated across a fuller spectrum.
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Secondary Research
We decided to research on loneliness and disability as separate topics. We used brainstorming methods such as mind mapping to channelize our focus. Next, we decided to read articles from journals & magazines to form key facts that could form the basis of our research.
Convergence Mapping
With a visualisation that shows these overlapping areas, we were able to find possible opportunity spaces which helped in moving forward with the project more efficiently.
Key Takeaways from Secondary Research
1
Loneliness is a cause of social isolation.
2
There is a decline in the U.S. household size leading to an increase in people living alone by 10%.
3
Technology is a boon dealing with LONELINESS.
How might we use design thinking to improve natural interactions between people with disabilities &
the community around them to reduce the feeling of loneliness & social isolation ?
Primary Research
After doing our secondary research, we decided to understand the subject further by researching all sides of the spectrum to understand each viewpoint and have a more holistic approach to the research. We wanted to understand all aspects of the subject to help us understand the voice of all stakeholders involved and create holistic solutions.
Categorization of the User Group
The disability spectrum is very vast and in order to understand the user group we decided to categorize it to get a better understanding of it.
Types of Primary Research Conducted
Online Survey
We conducted an online survey to understand the stigma in regards to interaction with people with a disability.
Field Visit
We visited LIFE ( Living Independence for Everyone) to understand & observe our stakeholders closely.
Few important quotes from the interview :
Key Takeaways from Primary Research
1
There is a serious lack of awareness about people with disabilities.
2
People born with disabilities find it easier to adapt to life as compared to people who acquire a disability.
3
Immediate support system of family & friends from early stages of life shape the future attitude of the person with disability.
Affinity Mapping
Design Principles
Based on the research we created 7 design principles.
Personas
Concept Ideation
We brainstormed on various ideas. Below are a few rough sketches :
Pre mortem & 6 Hats
We used the 6 hats approach and Pre-mortem methodology to poke holes in the directions to narrow down on one final solution.
Final Concept
We Vibe
The Solution
A mobile application that helps eliminate loneliness and social isolation by promoting organic interactions among people with a disability and their closest connections.
The platform provides creative avenues to promote interactions digitally and physically, acting like a virtual support group.
This helps people who acquire disabilities to cope with their situation in a positive manner and makes their closest connections agents of positive change.
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The idea for the mobile application was inspired by people born with disabilities stressing the importance of a strong support system. Developing a strong support system after acquiring a disability later in life is extremely difficult, making coping with life even more so. This mobile application focusses on creating, retaining, and growing peer support networks for people who acquire a disability.The core idea of the app is to increase interaction and provide a motivated, strong support system to a person who acquired a disability.
The interaction is increased through different features of the app such as online games, hobbies and events, motivational podcasts, and mental health guidance.
Prototyping & User Testing
We developed a few medium fidelity screens to see the flow of the app.
Card Sorting
The mobile application was prototyped with people from different backgrounds. This helped us in understanding the user journey and make changes accordingly. We used the card sorting design analysis method for this.
The Final Product
User Feedback Video