BusShi
Travel . Navigation
Context
The population in Singapore is rapidly aging and the number of seniors over the age of 65 is quickly catching up to that of youths under 15. While the body of seniors grows with time, so does the use of technology. This poses a problem as the elderly are not used to living with technology and at the same time, not all interfaces have been designed with the seniors in mind.
In a society that is rapidly adopting technology in almost all areas of life, there is a need to be mindful of inclusivity. While the seniors are slowly adapting to the change, services for the old and young are different and not easily substitutable for one another hence there is a need for more customization for the seniors. This is especially important in transportation because of its ability in facilitating mobility for the elderly. Mobility is key in allowing seniors to age healthily.
Constraints on mobility may lead to a whole range of health issues. Current technology such as the real-time bus information and the ability to top up ez-link cards on the go make transportation a lot smoother than before allowing for better route planning and overall convenience. However, the senior’s population haven’t been adapting to these changes.
This project aims to understand the senior’s hurdles when it comes to technology and employ inclusive design principles to reduce friction between seniors and technology.
Researh
What did I discover?
I conducted face to face interviews in order to get a better understanding of the pain points of the seniors surrounding public transportation. The key findings from the interview were:
1) The seniors are very willing to explore new places
2) 90% of them own a smartphone
3) They often find themselves taking the wrong bus
What next?
Armed with these findings, I took a look at the existing apps in the market for public buses. I found that there isn't an app that is specifically designed for seniors to enhance their journey on public buses. I decided to design an app specifically for seniors to function as a guide for places to go and how to get there.
My Approach for BusShi
App Colour Interface
My approach to designing the app was to choose colors which are friendly for the elderly to use. I settled on the existing colors palette as the pastel colors provided high contrast and comfort for seniors eyes. Because color blindness is very common in seniors, i did a few color blindness test to ensure that the colors will be suitable. I wont be recording al of them. Here are the results two color test which is very common in seniors, Protanomaly and Deuteeranomaly. I have include only these two pages because these are the pages with mostly words.
Font Size
Defining the app font size. I settled on 26pt which is comfortable and yet readable. Normally it will be 16pt.
Information and layout
By having the interface to have as little clutter as possible hence every page is designed with the goal in mind. Only information that is required is shown.
Usaility Testing
I did usability testing on the prototype, getting seniors aged 50s - 78 to perform various tasks on the app. Overall, all the participants felt that BusShi is very easy to use, and they like the explore functions as it is informative suggesting places to go and upcoming class and activities. They also felt that with the personalized smart counter and smart map makes travelling convenice and they also mention they feel assured that they won't get lost which is very important.
Prototype
This is BusShi, there are two main features; Route guide and Explore.
Route Guide
Route guide provides an indepth guide on how to get from one place to another with a special map feature that makes use of augmented reality for the walking guide.
Explore
Here you can see a range of places to visit. The places will be recommended based on your current location. These will usually be interesting activities or workshops.
