Locked in, now what

Our Opportunity Statement:

How might we create opportunities for older adults to share their stories and inspire their extended community?

Relationships — How has this crisis changed your assumptions about connecting with people (both your partners and your end-users) and given you insight into how the medium of contact might change the data you get back and the insights those inform?

Older adults also happen to be the most affected both physically and emotionally by the pandemic. While technology has become a primary form of support for our shelter-in-place lifestyles, they are bound by their physical and medical restrictions and also happen to be primarily non-native netizens. This particularly isolates them and adds a layer of agony.

With the onset of the crisis, we have shifted gears to a more secondary research-heavy study of the demographic. We’ve been working on understanding their behavioural patterns and preferred sensorial experiences to prototype ideas that facilitate an exchange of stories — to engage, empathize, inspire, or simply express — and share a part of themselves.

Creation — How has your shared team notion of the solution space changed with the onset of the crisis? How have the new constraints pushed your conception forward in a way you wouldn’t have planned had they not been there?

As we started working with the older community we explored environments — both physical and digital — to address our opportunity statement. We’ve been learning about older adults’ outlook towards digital devices. Our concepts, so far, are mostly in the virtual space.

1.

Story of Things

While contemplating story-telling as it pertains to older adults, their identity and legacy, we realized that physical objects could be a potent way to encapsulate and pass on a story. We tend to assign emotional value to things, finding meaning in their texture, sounds and smells, beyond their function. Listening to someone’s story through the lens of their belongings, could create a shared pathos and perhaps, relatability–grounding their stories in a tangible way. Through the Story of Things, we are looking to explore this archive of objects, that stand to outlive the people who own them.

2.

Radio Covid

There is a fear that if the virus disappears as abruptly as it arrived, we might forget all the reasons it became powerful. Thus, the platform is an attempt to remind us of what happened. Picking up on the sense of community that appears to be emerging in these times of uncertainty, The Covid Time Capsule is a radio-esque repository and platform, that serves as both a collective memory, and a support system to alleviate emotional trauma associated with the pandemic.

Anybody can tune into the platform at any time to listen to stories shared by people around the globe. You can select a specific location or tag, and listen to someone’s recorded experience, to feel a sense of empathy and belonging in isolation. You may also record your own experiences and mark yourself on the globe — publicly, or schedule it to send it to themselves alone, at a specific date in the future.

This idea is currently being showcased at the Global Grad Show.

Have a look here.

3.

Memory Board

In an attempt to spark nostalgia and treasure stories, we thought of a collage-ish space that can prompt conversations and seal memories. This is a Do-it-Yourself concept that guides you step-by-step on how to create a Memory Board. The idea is to have different elements of a memory in one space. This can especially be helpful to older adults who struggle with memory decline in conditions like Dementia. Colors, photos, touching old objects are known to help stimulate senses. This can be used as a memento to document stories of older adults.

Ideas developed by Jinal Mehta, Shivani Singh, Luyuan Li and Debanjana Saha. Let us know your thoughts :)