Paveline
Customize Map for Seniors
Travelers
Travelers
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Most seniors are overwhelmed by the amount of free time during the retirement period. Many people choose to reduce their isolation by traveling to a different city or the wilderness to enjoy their leisure time and gain new knowledge.
The project started in Bay Area, California, and aims to create a smart travel service platform for seniors who reduce their travel risk. Meanwhile, providing a convenient and efficient experience increase senior's travel desire
CHALLENGE
1. Many park maps will not provide accurate information and are not updated regularly, making it easy for older people to get lost.
2. Most places do not have signage for accessible sites, which causes many inconveniences for older people to get around.
3. Some sites of interest lack background information and descriptions.
Over the 14 weeks, we did...
Paveline is a digital and physical travel platform for senior travelers.
This is an easy-to-use online platform for seniors user. It provides all types senior related information to motivate older people to travel. User can customize their itinerary to suit interests and needs and gain more knowledge and skills during the way.
KEYFEATURE
Recommended Places to Visit
Paveline provides detailed information which helps users' decision-making process before they visit.
Planning accessible information
Users can select different accessibility information on the platform base on the needs, including stairs, rest areas, elevation level, walking distance, etc.
Selecting places to visit
Use the Paveline platform to get basic information about the area in advance and add it to your list of places to visit.
Recommended Routes
Paveline will provide the senior traveler with several paths for the best experience based on the needs.
Physical & Digital Maps
We can deliver the user's map to the user's home, save it for viewing on a smart device or print it.
IMPACTS
We tested the PaveLine map at Japanese Tea Garden, and both seniors and caregivers reported that using the Paveline map improved the overall experience. It made them more active in exploring the whole park.
100%
15/15 testers have positive feedback on this concept
85%
of testers said they are willing to purchase the product
75%
of beta testers said Paveline is
really simple to use
process
Field Investigation
I create a list that seniors might be interested in visiting the nearby Bay Area. We total visit 7 different locations ( Golden Gate Bridge, Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Garden, Fisherman’s Wharf, UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden, Mission Dolores Park, Ferry Building) for field research. We test those places if they have information for senior travelers.
List of possible field research
Test fisherman's wharf's map
Test SF Botanical Garden map
No Accessible Info on the Map
Most locations have accessible restrooms, elevators, ramps, and chairs for mobility issues, but it doesn’t cover all of them on the current map.
User-hostile Route
There are many stairs, a narrow route, a bridge, steep slope in the recreation area. But none of the maps mention those
Lack of Background Info
We did some intercept interviews with senior travelers. We find out they want to learn more historical knowledge about the place, but it doesn’t show up on the map
What have we learned?In the end, we only investigated the Japanese Tea Gardens and the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens in-depth. These two places are more suited to senior travelers' needs and have relatively good infrastructure within the park. They make the overall experience safer and more comfortable for seniors to visit.
"
“I have a drawer full of maps and collect them from places where I’ve been.”
“There’s a limitation to the places where we can go because my wife uses a wheelchair. I have to check if they have disability access.”
Annie, 69. Fisherman’s Wharf.
Tony, 80. Embarcadero Ferry Building.
OVERVIEW
After a month of user research and stakeholder understanding, we began evaluating the current subject matter and functionalizing the project for the next two months.
We used the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) extensively upfront to test Paveline's core concepts. These usability tests helped us validate the project's implementability and provide concrete information for design iterations to determine that we were building the right product
Design Iteration
We put up Paveline posters in school cafeterias, parks, and coffee shops to attract more potential real users to test the product during the design process. We are trying to get more users to validate feasibility.
Final Version
OVERVIEWWe took a course named the Creative founder, which we needed to sell our product to the real market. However, none of us had a business background, so we switched to a business mindset. We thought it would be more efficient to reach out to the senior center to increase brand recognition rather than intercept tourists in the park. So I contacted five elderly centers and tried to recommend our products to the members of the community.
📊 Business Model Canvas
We built a business model canvas, and we wanted to understand if there was a potential market. Studying different channels and models to be profitable in the future.
📈 Market Size
In the first phase, we wanted to reach most seniors in San Francisco who use smart devices and then grow to the top tourist cities in the US and eventually spread across the country.
Except for secondary research, we contacted local experts and organizations to ask about the size of the market for current users.
💵 Financial Model
After completing the business model canvas, we decided to use a freemium model to attract our customer base. We will generate additional revenue by offering premium maps, seasonal passes, and having value-added advertising on the maps.
Based on our product requirements, we estimate the cost and profitability of our products in the SOM (accessible market). It helps us better understand our position in the current market and develop a strategic plan for future business growth.
🗃 Customer acquisition
We set up a website to get people to sign up for our service and test Paveline. We used Google Ads to place all users within 100 miles of the Bay Area to get more users. At the end of the project, we ran 2 shadow tracks, ran 2 tests with digital maps, and got 5 sign-up.Website
Based on the current senior services industry or navigation services, we hope to have partnerships with or be acquired by these companies in the future.
After our research, we found only two ideal scenic spots in the Bay Area: the Japanese Tea Garden and the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens. I contacted the director and presented our project. Also, I contacted the San Francisco Senior Center, the Golden Gate Park Senior Center, and the Ed Roberts Campus, all of whom were willing to test our program as a group.
There is a lot of paperwork to be approved and verified to take a large group of seniors out. The local organizations have already arranged their schedules for the next month, so, unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to do more testing due to time constraints.
This is the first time I have designed a product from scratch and developed a service platform through real user feedback and validation. Over the past 14 weeks, I have learned how the real world works. A hypothesis is always just a hypothesis. It can change according to real-world needs, where a lot of research and product iterations are needed to complete a relatively reasonable product.
🔑 Key takeaways
Communication. We often feel lost, depressed, confused, and irritated during our explorations. But we were always communicating and encouraging each other as a team. I think communication is one of the most important parts of a team project, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and we need to be tolerant and accept differences.
Be willing to ask for help. We often couldn't find accurate data online, so we tried to contact local librarians, data analysts, organizers, project coordinators, professors, etc. Surprisingly, they were all very willing to solve the problems we encountered and give us positive feedback.
The sky is the limit. Although we are all designers without any business background, we can be diligent in learning and broadening our horizons from various resources, learning from each other, and sharing what we have learned new.
🔮 Future directions
Update the visual design. I need to polish the visual design (font style, style edition, mood edition, etc.) and do iterations on the map's visuals.
More usability testing. I will only connect with a few resource centers but more people to test before updating iterations.
Expanding key features. I will continue to expand our bespoke features. We identified similar needs for wheelchair users and elderly travelers during our research and then provide a more user-friendly product in the future.
Experimenting with different models. We envisage placing a vending machine at the entrance to the leisure area where customers can print out maps on the spot rather than just on the computer.
P.S. At the end of the period, we presented our product to angel investors and designers, and 10 out of 11 people chose to finance us.
View 2018 Creative Founder cohort completes pitch.Click me!
