Accessible Storytelling for Seniors
Product Design Internship | Lives To Tell
2025
Only 1 in 3 Americans has ever recorded a conversation with a parent or grandparent.
Within three generations, 80% of family stories are gone.
Most people never start.
Within three generations, 80% of family stories are gone.
Most people never start.
Overview
My team and I created a mobile app called Lives To Tell, a storytelling tool for seniors to document and pass on life experiences. My contributions for this project include hashing out the UX through UI iterations and prototyping an accessible experience where seniors capture memories, draft with an assistant, and share stories with family and a global community.
Role:
Product Designer
Timeline:
01/2025 - 06/2026
Team:
Wei Li
Jane Chen
Claudia Wormley
Jordan Ho
Shreyantan Chandra
Skills:
User Research
UI/UX Design
Prototyping
Motion Graphics
Web Development
Seniors want to share their memories, but don't know where to start.
Produce a simple and accessible way for seniors to capture stories in everyday moments and turn them into something families will keep and revisit.
Designing for chats, authenticity, and user connection + 1,2,3 Design Objectives
I conducted interviews with seniors, caregivers, and adult children to understand how families share memories and why they usually don't. These are the key insights that defined the launch version of the product.
Competitor Analysis Produce a simple and accessible way for seniors to capture stories in everyday moments and turn them into something families will keep and revisit.
My approach was grounded in the Hook Model from Nir Eyal's Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. The goal was to help seniors build a quiet habit of storytelling based around timely usage, comfort, and authentic storytelling. The framework helped me think clearly about what brings someone back to a product, and how to make each return feel rewarding rather than obligatory.
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
As people age and perceive their time horizon as limited, they prioritize emotionally meaningful goals and relationships over acquiring new information or expanding social networks.
Internal Trigger
Emotional or psychological states that prompt action:- Missing family (loneliness, geography)
- Wanting to be understood
- Milestone driven reflection
- Anxiety (fear of forgetting, time urgency, health events)
External Trigger
Cues from the environment that prompt immediate action:
- A family member sharing a photo or story
- Calendar date (anniversary, birthday, holiday)
- Memory prompt notification
Internal Triggers that drive recurring usage
Nostalgia, Not Notifications
For seniors, the "itch" is rarely a desire to use an app. It is a feeling of unfinished storytelling or a moment of nostalgia. I designed features that surfaced that feeling and gave users a gentle door to walk through.
The pain points, competitor audit, and AI research were the starting nodes for branching into a variety of solutions. See some of the explorations we considered below.
The pain points, competitor audit, and AI research were the starting nodes for branching into a variety of solutions. See some of the explorations we considered below.
A friend sends the user a rough draft of a song they're working on. The user listens to the track and decides on a specific section they want to add lyrics to. They create a loop: this part of the song plays again and again.
Note, Record, Reorder memories
A friend sends the user a rough draft of a song they're working on. The user listens to the track and decides on a specific section they want to add lyrics to. They create a loop: this part of the song plays again and again.
Draft, Copilot chatting, accessibility Copilot options
A friend sends the user a rough draft of a song they're working on. The user listens to the track and decides on a specific section they want to add lyrics to. They create a loop: this part of the song plays again and again.
Share
A friend sends the user a rough draft of a song they're working on. The user listens to the track and decides on a specific section they want to add lyrics to. They create a loop: this part of the song plays again and again.
Personalize Your Legacy (choose cover),