LastingMind
LastingMind is a new way for families to record and preserve their loved ones’ history. Over time, families and friends build a rich archive of knowledge that helps us better understand those around us and those who came before us, and provides something for our loved ones after us.
Backstory
Despite how hard it may be to believe, no one is here forever. All of our parents, grandparents, and siblings who feel invincible will one day pass. Coming to terms with this reality is what makes mourning so difficult. The founders of LastingMind experienced this firsthand. After a debilitating injury, their father suffered severe memory loss. In dealing with this, they realized there were so many questions they would never get answered. They wouldn’t be able to learn and preserve so much about their family history, traditions, and the quirks of who he was, let alone pass it on to their children. This is what inspired LastingMind. With LastingMind, families can avoid the mistake of always thinking they have more time and preserve their history before it’s too late.
Project Overview
The project primarily involved redesigning the LastingMind mobile platform. The team started with a deprecated version of the web platform and built a prototype that made memory capture easier and more narrative-driven. The goal was to let users capture and share their memories through written entries, voice notes, photos, or videos. The capture was structured around a storyline that guided users through the various phases of life. After developing the prototype, the team built a new mobile app from scratch. The app’s new guided experience helped older users share things they might not otherwise think of, while younger users were encouraged to use the platform more like a journal. Finally, users could share these memories with their loved ones, allowing them to interact with the entries and create a shared history.
Unique Factors / Challenges
Two unique factors of the project were robust accessibility handling and UX design.
Accessibility
Accessibility was unique here because of its importance. Many digital platforms include basic accessibility considerations because their target market often centers on young to middle-aged users. This was flipped on its head here. Because LastingMind is centered on older seniors, most of the target audience had difficulty seeing and/or hearing. This deeply impacted the frontend design, as the team had to ensure everything ran smoothly for mobile users with larger text sizes and included support for those who are hard of hearing. Furthermore, most seniors aren’t tech-savvy, pushing the team toward creative solutions that could maintain the app’s simplicity without sacrificing important features.
User Experience
Given the age range of app users, the user base required a flexible user experience. Older users, their middle-aged caretakers, and younger relatives would ideally all interact with the platform. Each segment uses the platform differently. Older and middle-aged users would be more focused on creating life entries, whereas younger users would tend to use the platform more for journaling and viewing others’ entries. The team addressed this with different yet cohesive user flows based on users’ traits and connections on the platform.
Achievements & Outcome
A redesign of LastingMind’s UI/UX across mobile and web
Development of the new LastingMind mobile app
Successful data migration for existing LastingMind users
