the new OLD age
2018 | POLIMI
SUMMARY
In this project we delved into the needs of Milan's elderly to design a tailored product-service system. Over four weeks, I led our team in conducting interviews and observations to uncover their daily challenges and preferences. By synthesizing these insights, we developed innovative solutions to boost well-being, social inclusion, and independence for seniors in Milan.
I took the lead on this two and half-week deep dive into the lives of Milan's seniors. It was part of my master's degree, but it felt like the real deal. I was chosen to be the project manager, and my job was to keep our team on track - divvying up work, making sure everyone was in sync, and pushing us to get meaningful results despite the tight timeline.
Getting the full picture
To really understand what we were dealing with in "The New Old Age" project, we had to look at it from a bunch of different angles. It wasn't just about talking to seniors - we had to dig into the bigger picture too.
We didn't stop there. We got into the nitty-gritty of who these seniors in Milan actually are. What kind of jobs did they have? What do they do day-to-day? It was about understanding their lives, not just their age.
Of course, we had to look at some of the tougher stuff too. Social isolation, loneliness, ageism - these aren't easy topics, but they're important. We also had to consider how people's bodies and minds change as they get older.
Lastly, we took a look at what's already out there for seniors. What products and services are available? What's working? What's missing? This helped us figure out where we might be able to make a difference.
It was a lot to take in, but it gave us a solid foundation for the rest of the project. You can't solve a problem if you don't understand it, right?
Getting to know the users
A main step of the project was to engage directly with elderly residents across Milan, conducting in-depth interviews to understand their experiences and challenges. We sat down with quite a few of them, trying to get a real sense of what their lives were like.
One thing we did was ask them to map out their social connections. It might sound a bit odd, but it actually gave us a good look at who they were close to and how lonely they might be feeling.
Now, here's where it got interesting for me. I was pretty new to Milan and my Italian was... well, let's just say it wasn't great. But you know what? That language barrier ended up being kind of useful. Since I couldn't rely on words as much, I started paying more attention to how people were saying things, not just what they were saying. Their expressions, gestures, that sort of thing.
It wasn't always easy, mind you. There were definitely some moments of confusion. But in a weird way, it helped me pick up on things I might have missed if I'd been focused on the words. I started noticing how people's faces changed when they talked about certain topics, or how their body language shifted.
All of this helped us get a better picture of what was really going on with these folks. It wasn't just about the facts of their lives, but how they felt about them. And that turned out to be pretty important for our research.
What we found out
After all that research and talking to the users, we got a pretty good idea of who we needed to focus on and what might help them. We're looking at people between 65 and 74, elders that have just entered the old age.
These people have a few things in common. They're interested in getting back into physical activities, especially ones that relate to hobbies or skills they used to have. It's not just about staying fit, though. They're looking for ways to feel like they're still contributing something valuable to society. They want to find their place in the community.
We figured if we could help with that, it might make the whole aging process a bit easier for them. Maybe even make them feel better about life in general.
So, we started thinking about some kind of system that these people could use. Something that would let them connect with others, share their skills, and stay active. We thought it should be something that individuals could use on their own, but that could also work for community groups.
It's was a start to later develop our second part of the Innovation course that was to create a product-service system, if you are interest to know our solution check it here on my Behance. Instead, if you want to deep-dive a bit in the result of our research continue scrolling.
Deep-dive into the research's main findings. Press the arrows on the keyboard to navigate.
© 2024 all rights reserved.
gabriele morgan pereira