Redesigning Wellness for Aging Women

How might we remove the expectation that everyone knows how to retire?

How might we remove the expectation that everyone knows how to retire?

A project with a deep focus on need-finding with target user groups that ended with a theoretical solution and panel presentation.

Whenever the question of planning for retirement comes up, the answer always involves money. Putting more money in a 401K, diversifying your portfolio, starting early. What isn't discussed is what you'll be doing once you're retired. Everyone assumes that'll be the easy part. But for many people, it isn't. This is where The Passion Project enters. Our team designed a program that connects individuals to local organizations and local organizations to each other. For example, Nancy would contact the Passion Project whcih would connect her to the American Sewing Guild and then connect them to the local middle school to help create costumes for the fall play.

At the beginning, to the team of five college students, wellness of aging women seemed an odd focus topic with which to be presented. However, by the end of the design challenge, we understood why it was chosen and were extremely happy with the outcome. With design thinking, one of the key tenants is to have empathy for the user, and for beginners it's easier to remember the user when you have no direct connection to the material you're designing.

While this project ended as only a prototype, we had so much interest in our prototype that people were offering to post the brochure on community boards and were hoping it would become something tangible.

Team Pie Presentation Run-through-4
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Team Pie Presentation Run-through-3

Tools: Generating a user guide, user interviews, rapid prototypes, prototype interviews, user personas, needs, insights, how might we questions, story telling presentations

Course: Human Centered Design

Project Sponsor: City of Hope

Challenge: Redesign wellness for aging women

Team: 5 Students from different backgrounds and majors

Focus Population: Women at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, women at the Jocelyn Senior Center, and local women from the public downtown area and local park

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