ginkao

*Prototype link: * Link

Describe your project (Max 150 words)

ginkao is a mobile app designed to encourage building connections within family and across the world by telling stories and reflecting on memories about food. The app highlights accessibility through the inclusion of two interfaces based on user familiarity with technology, and allows users to document their memories through text, image, and voice recordings. Prompts encourage the user to reflect on their emotions, associations with the particular dish, and share those experiences with those dear to them.

*Describe your research process and findings. If you conducted any surveys or interviews, please include the survey form and/or interview questions here. If you conducted secondary research by pulling from online sources, please include a link to your sources. (Max 500 words) *

We first conducted a survey in order to learn more about how people, mainly grandchildren, connected with their relatives and foster deep relationships. From this survey, we found that language barriers were common when interacting with relatives, especially those who lived in different countries. 72.7% of respondents reported that they spoke mostly different languages with their grandparents, with the remaining 18.2% speaking the same language fluently. Language differences were found to moderately affect conversation (36.4%), with 18.2% saying that it significantly affected their conversation topics and duration. The majority felt somewhat connected with cultural background and traditions, and cultural differences such as mannerisms in public/private settings were noted. Respondents were also asked what topics were most commonly brought up in conversation with their grandparents. The most popular answers were day-to-day life, future goals, past stories, and most importantly, food, which led us to focus our app design around the interactions between food, culture, language, and storytelling. We then conducted a few deeper interviews about how people viewed food as a part of their relationships with relatives. One interviewee mentioned that they interpreted the providing of food as an expression of love and effort despite hardships like poverty. Another mentioned that it allowed them to connect with their culture without having to fly across the world.

Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words)

One of the struggles of designing for users over multiple generations was developing an interface that felt natural but accessible at the same time. We decided to design two separate interfaces to tackle this issue, giving the user the ability to toggle between the two at any point. The first interface, aimed towards more elderly or less tech-savvy individuals, features larger font, buttons, and spacing which provide a smoother experience for those who may struggle with mobility issues or are less skilled in navigating a mobile interface. Affordances were made as obvious as possible and we reinforced interactions, adding drop shadows to signify a button could be pressed. The second design was aimed at those who were more comfortable with technology, and was more similar to what one might see on a social media app like Instagram or Substack. Another design decision was to primarily have posts as defaulted to private and only published within Family groups. The survey showed that physical barriers like distance and timezone were the majority blocks to more consistent, deeper connection with relatives, and because there is no lack of cultural content online, we chose to have the app focus on fostering these closer, tight knit relationships. A more subtle design choice was the emphasis of voice recording as a method of storytelling on the “Create Post” page for beginner users, since recording is a less exhausting process than typing, especially for “beginner” users.

If applicable, describe how you utilized AI in your design process in detail. Please explain where AI fit into your workflow, which tools you used, and the specific purpose AI served at that stage. Include a concrete example of how AI influenced a design decision. (Max 500 words)

AI was used to generate preliminary survey questions, which were then filtered and modified to better fit our needs and curiosities. AI was also used to brainstorm app ideas that targeted our problem of interest, and was key in suggesting that public and private posts both be able to exist but at the discretion of the user.

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