Yanfei (Elfie) Wang
UX Researcher:
General research & Questionnaire setting
UI Designer:
Account page, Game library & detail page, Setting & preference page, 404 page. (for 1st version)
All pages (for optimized version)
Gabby Chen
UX Researcher:
Survey collection & Face-to-face interview
UI Designer:
Sign-in&sign-up pages, Homepage, Reminder page, Calendar page. (for 1st version)
In the design process, we were addressing several issues facing users in the context of Alzheimer’s care. Many users struggle to identify which types of games are suitable for Alzheimer's patients, as not all cognitive games cater to their needs. Additionally, caregivers often need to assist in managing medical records, appointments, and other essential information due to the patients’ difficulties in navigating digital platforms. This creates a challenge, as caregivers and patients require distinct functionalities but still need to access the app seamlessly. Finally, many apps' interfaces may not be accessible enough for elderly users, who may face difficulties with small text, complex navigation, and unintuitive layouts.
Our app categorizes brain games into distinct sections with concise descriptions, making it easy for users to select suitable games for Alzheimer’s patients. Separate logins for caregivers and patients provide tailored access, ensuring both groups can manage their respective activities without confusion. Shared features such as reminders and calendars are designed with an intuitive navigation and layout that allow users with different needs to quickly locate relevant content. To improve accessibility, we use simple typography and include a text/icon size adjustment option to accommodate the visual preferences and comfort of different user groups, enhancing overall usability and comfort.
To create functional and user-friendly solutions, this design process presented a structured approach to problem-solving.
We conducted research to gather user briefs regarding Alzheimer’s patients and caretakers, collecting different needs of different categories of users through the report from Alzheimer's Associate, questionnaires and interviews. At the same time, we investigated the functions and characteristics of competitive products (websites and apps), and collected a sample of 10+ users, so as to provide reference and suggestions for our app design.
Based on our understanding of the user needs and the analysis of our competitor’s product, we concluded a list of features our app would offer, in order to elevate user experience.
Users don't know what kind of games are suitable to Alzheimer's.
Caregivers are required to help manage medical records or appointment due to forgetfulness of patients.
Two groups of users seek diverse features while interacting with the same app.
Some interfaces are not easily accessible to elder users.
Patient's Concern
Accessibility (+ Functionality)
Caregiver's Concern
Functionality
Wireframes
We structured the app pages by a clear hierarchy and main features, distinguishing among login, reminder, game gallery, account and setting pages. This organization enables us to prioritize content and guide user engagement effectively.
Style scheme
Comps (1st version)
During usability testing through mobile platform, we created high fidelity interactive mobile prototypes using the four task flows. Then to optimize our design, we utilized a representative sample of 10+ users (whose family member has a loss of memory, industrial professionals, and nursing students with experiences of caring elder patients, etc.) that reflects the demographics of user base.
Success Metrics: Ease of Use/Errors/Overall User Experience
Feedback
The colors are harmonious, but there is no contrast. Bright colors can attract the attention of older people and help them remember.
Optimize
Unify the design style, add eye-catching colors to better guide users through the app's functions.
Feedback
The default font is still too small for the elder, and the elder are not good at resetting software.
Optimize
Taking more account of elder's vision problem, adjust the default visual size of the app to large size.
Feedback
Light purple background and white text are too difficult to read, especially for elder users.
Optimize
Increased contrast between background and text.
Separate admin
Patient account & caretaker account (Most of Alzheimer patients need caretakers to help manage the daily life)
Brain training games
Game gallery helps Alzheimer patients train their brain to alleviate the issue of memory loss.
Reminder & calendar
Users can add/modify the reminders through clicking Alarm icon in the navigation bar.
Featured function
For users with limited vision, app provides font-size adjustment and dark mode.
Although this wasn’t a real case, I gathered valuable feedback from targeted users and UX professionals, which shaped my design decisions.
I learned:
Simplicity is key – A clean, intuitive interface makes navigation easier for users with cognitive challenges.
Empathy-driven design – Insights from caregivers and patients helped create meaningful, user-centered features.
Balancing usability and functionality – Every feature had to be useful without overwhelming the experience.
If a similar project could be landed, I’d conduct further user testing to refine interactions and explore AI-driven features for personalized memory training and user assistance.