Interaction - Bachelor

Keepsake

Keepsake is an app and widget for mobile devices and tablets that helps young adults and kids stay in touch with their older relatives. Each relationships becomes a light that dims when contact fades. Send them a personal question and the light comes back on. Their reply is saved and sorted as a 'Keepsake'.

Joshua Mitchell

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Keepsake

Why did I design this?

Staying in touch has never been easier. Everyone has a phone in their pocket, and a message takes seconds to send.

However, a lot of us still don’t reach out to our grandparents. Life gets busy, and when we do, we don’t know what to say. For older relatives those quiet weeks add up, and many end up feeling lonely.

61% of people in residential aged care feel lonely

Gardiner et al., 2020

How does it help?

This is where Keepsake comes in. Each person you add becomes a light that slowly dims while you’re out of touch, but never goes out. When it gets low, Keepsake suggests a question just for them, like asking Nan how she makes her scones.

Send it and the light comes back on. Users can save replies as ‘Keepsakes’, items that are sorted by themes, like recipes and stories, and by people, and are easily accessible after the conversation.

22 of 25 tasks done without help

Final user test with five people aged 21 to 78
A tester at his desk taps through Keepsake on his phone during the final user test.

The Light, The App, and The Widget

The widget sits on your Home Screen and shows a light for each person you’ve added. A bright light means you’ve been in touch lately. A dim one with a tired face means it’s time to reach out.

Tap a dim light and Keepsake opens their chat with a question ready to send. Questions are sorted into themes like checking in, handing down skills and asking for advice. AI helps write the question, and it never sees the reply.

Sending brings the light straight back on. Even at its lowest it never goes out.

A tester at his desk taps through Keepsake on his phone during the final user test.

Keepsakes, Moments, Streaks, and a Simpler Option for Older Relatives

The Keepsakes tab shows your saved replies. You can see the newest first, or open a folder for each person or topic.

A Moment is a photo swap with one person. You both share a photo of what you are doing right now.

A Glow Streak counts the weeks in a row that you stay in touch with a person. An ask, a call, a reply or a Moment counts. If you miss a week, a Breather keeps the streak. You get one Breather a month.

Simple view is for older relatives. It has bigger text and one action on each screen. In the final test, both grandmothers used it without help.

Joshua Mitchell

Joshua is a final year student at QUT, majoring in Interaction Design and minoring in Information Systems, and a user experience designer at care tech startup Conpago. He likes working with people, and understanding their problems, to design delightful and intuitive products.

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