Early in my Human Factors & Ergonomics graduate program, I was fortunate to secure an internship with Panasonic’s Research & Development team. I started as a researcher and later transitioned to a visual and information architect for their On4Today product, designed to meet the needs of elderly individuals with Alzheimer’s in assisted living facilities.

To design an experience that met our users’ needs, we first had to understand all aspects of our customers, the elderly, and the various issues they faced. My fellow interns and I conducted research interviews with assisted living staff, family members, and elderly residents to gain a comprehensive overview. Here are some examples of these interviews:

In addition to gathering generative and stakeholder research data, I utilized my visual design skills to create marketing and promotional materials. Given the newness of the technology and the less tech-savvy target demographic, we needed to clearly explain how the product worked and its benefits. Here’s an example of the website designed to educate and sign up family members for the product and service, as well as one of the many print materials that was created:

On4Today was designed to address the challenges faced by assisted living facility staff, family members, and Alzheimer’s patients with stage 1 and 2 dementia. The product focuses on a fundamental aspect of dementia: memory loss. On4Today includes several components: a tablet device placed in the patient’s room to remind them of schedules and events, and two web platforms—one for family members and one for assisted living facility staff—to facilitate communication and interaction, thereby improving the patients’ quality of life. Each aspect of On4Today underwent multiple iterations based on technical feasibility and the research data we gathered over time.

While we needed to keep the tablet interface extremely simple, legible, and with minimal interactions, the enterprise and family platforms required robust features while maintaining usability. Initially, the platform focused on event creation. Given that dementia is incurable, our primary goal was to enhance the quality of life for these elderly patients. Through our research, we realized that more than just event reminders were needed. Over the product lifecycle, we gradually introduced and expanded features that staff and family members could configure.