Re-creating the image and provide the best personal nursing care for aging population
Client: Kinz
Keywords: Product Design, Product Development, User experience, Branding, Visual identity, Logo design, Packaging
THE CHALLENGE
The aging population is at its highest level in all of human history and more and more elderly are living alone. Faced with this situation worldwide, it’s essential to develop new ways to help our aging populations.
Technological advances can provide many tools that can help us to combat common problems that seniors encounter, while those tech devices either feels like a medical or cold hi-tech product that will keep elderly away.
If we can match technology with seniors’ needs and wants, physically and psychologically, we can improve their lives and help their families as a whole.
THE OUTCOME
After careful consideration of the user needs, we understood that the senior or their family would feel secure if there were something or someone could keep track of the elderly safety and get help when there are life-threatening situations.
An elderly safeguard wristband was created in a form of an everyday accessory in order to physically & psychologically connected the seniors with tech products that can collect everyday health data, vital signs and get help when in need.
DISCOVERY
Labelled “for elderly”, “old” struck a nerve among many in over-60
Technology has linked with numerous smart devices for the elderly in order to help them with greater independence, health, and connection with others.
While the seniors rejected to be labelled old and refuse to use those products specially designed for their generation. It is not the elderly try to get distance from tech products that can benefit their living but that very functional device looks definitely for the seniors keeps them away.
Elderly living alone
Aging people falls can cause serious consequences or can be deadly if no proper rescue immediately.
While more and more elderly living alone or either their family members cannot keep an eye on them 24 hours 7 days, therefore, nobody could help if any accident occurred which may put the life of the elderly at risk.
IDEATION
Emotionally connected with aging population
Elderly were once with taste and look cool, this mindset didn’t change even get older. The design direction was to make the tech product like an accessory, abandon the functional appearance that scared the elderly away.
Moreover, simple usage will also in one of the top considerations, which the elderly don’t need to work on any complex set-up but only wear it and re-charge it.
Provide a level of security to the senior and their family
Concern about the risk that elderly lived alone would encounter, it is an urgent need for a device that could accurately tell if an elderly needs emergency attention, such as fall detection, vital sign data, most importantly connect to their family and send out help signal whenever accident occurs in order to ease the insecure feeling among both parties – the aging people and their family.
This wristband could be an extremely life-saving accessory for elderly to carry every day.
IMPLEMENTATION
- Elderly Safeguard Wristband
All designed for the senior group from inside to outside
A six-axis fall detection sensor was built inside the wristband together with a chip to monitor the vital sign of the user and track their location when an elderly fall or any accident occurs, there will be a strong, observable and ultimate signal to tell one’s body is in great trouble for whatever causes and send a notification to family or whoever connected for help.
The wristband has comes in a pair so that elderly can simply switch units for day and night use and leave the redundant one for charging. It comes with an app for the record of all information and emergency alerts, which can be installed on both user’s mobile and the people who are responsible for the tracking. So what elderly needs to do with the product will only be wearing it and also re-charging it.
Western style & Oriental style
Pick the element desire for a specific group
The product could be universal function-wise but not for appearance. We have careful consideration on the material and also the overall style for the western and oriental groups.
What’s the Tech ?
How it works ?
BRANDING
Building a new brand
To highlight the emotional value from the brand to the product in order to create a connection to the user.
The brand position is targeting family who has elder people such as grandparents or aged parents who are not living with them and hope they won’t forget the beautiful time they have been through.
We have to align the overall brand tone which to raise the attention of caring and connect with beloved elder family members.
Art Direction
From the design tone to the photographic language select, they needed to be warm and shows family love in order to bring out the vibe of the brand.
Rather than cool colors such as shades of blue or pale white that will easily remind people of a hospital or medical tech products. A series of warm colors were chosen to be the main tone of the brand such as shades of red & orange to deliver care from heart and love emotion.
To continue the vibe through the whole brand, from logo design to the photographic language communicates the same message and feelings that explaining the story and background of the brand with a touch of beautiful humanity.
- The KINZ brand
The brand name is a combination of two words – Kin & Kizuna (絆). Kin means family and your closest relations and Kizuna is a very traditional and representative Japanese word meaning bonds or connections between people. These two words completely show the core value of the brand which we hope our product can link the two generations together and giving care to the elder people.
The font and icon are all in the round layout to show a cordial feeling. The logo contains two human icons – one using a black circle to represent the younger generation while another in a silver circle represent the silver (elder) generation; one line below to shows the connection between them which the tagline tells the same.
