Bloom
Designing Connections for Seniors
Type
Product Design Sprint, Best Beginner Prize
Timeline
Mar 2022, 36 hours
Tools & Skills
Figma
Illustrator
After Effects
UX Research
skip to final product
01 / Context
Background Information
My teammates, Michelle Wang, Morgan Liew, and Kallie Zhang, and I joined our first-ever product design sprint challenge with an intriguing case: create a digital product that helps people establish meaningful connections, overcome social isolation, keep in touch with old friends, and overcome the struggle to form new relationships. Through research, we realized that several apps already exist that try to combat these problems, however, no effective products exist for our chosen target demographic — senior citizens of Canada.
02 / Research
Developing the Problem
In 2024, 81.9% of Canadians reported using social media.
One-third of Canada’s population is over 55. And yet, a massive 41% of seniors report feeling socially isolated. It’s not just about loneliness; it’s about the real, tangible effects that isolation can have on their health. We're talking depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline—the list goes on. But here’s the kicker: Even though nearly 85% of seniors use electronic devices every day, less than 10% of them are active on mainstream social media. So why is that?
Three of the popular social media apps in 2025. The pink section represents users aged 55 and above, only making up an average of 9.5% of total users.
Competitor Analysis
Analyzing 2 competitor platforms aimed to aid seniors, we recognized several flaws in their systems. Through our analysis, we were able to determine exactly what our standalone app needed.
User Findings
Name: Margaret Altman
Age: 76
Location: London, Ontario
Education: Western University, Engineering ‘68
Interests: Journaling, gardening
Margaret, our user persona curated after conducting market research, lives alone in London, Ontario. Since her husband passed away, her social life has dwindled. She’s not just isolated by distance; technology makes it worse. She’s overwhelmed by the idea of using social media, feels embarrassed to reach out to her family, and worries about her privacy. Margaret’s story isn’t just her own—it’s the story of millions of seniors across Canada.
Pain Points
Unfriendly User Interfaces
Steep Digital Learning Curves
Data Security Concerns
The issue is simple—current digital spaces aren’t made for them. We’re talking about platforms that are complicated, intimidating, and sometimes unsafe for seniors.
so, our developed problem statement was created…
Problem Statement
Current mainstream social media doesn’t accommodate senior-specific needs, cutting them out of opportunities to reconnect and form deeper, more meaningful connections through digital platforms.
03 / Our Approach
By thoroughly researching our target demographic, their pain points, and currently existing competitor platforms, we developed our solution: Bloom, a social media app made specifically for adults and seniors aged 55 and above. Its key features include a digital journal, local event finding, community connecting, cognitive games, and a personal assistant, Iris.
We heavily researched preferred user flows and preferences of the senior demographic. Seniors prefer large buttons and information to be displayed in a sequential format. Simple gestures such as scrolling and tapping were much preferred over more complex interactions. As such, keeping the interface simple was a must for Bloom.
targetting pain points!
Pain Point // Unfriendly User Interfaces
Our user flow started with low-fidelity prototypes, hand-drawn on Procreate, to get an understanding of how the app’s UX would feel. Following this, we moved on to wireframing to create a more realistic user-flow journey.
Pain Point // Steep Digital Learning Curves
Iris, Bloom's Personal Assistant
To address our second pain point, steep digital learning curves, we designed an AI personal assistant, Iris, that leads the user through an onboarding process, from creating an account to using the app's different features. This decision was made since our research showed that while younger users are more likely to skip onboarding screens, older users will likely pay more attention to them and read all instructions. Additionally, Iris was designed so that there would be an easily available helper, ready to answer any questions any user may have, located at the bottom left dock of the app, appearing on every screen.
We ensured that all our main features had multiple pathways to access them, increasing accessibility, and reducing the number of transitions it would take a user to get from one screen to another, aiming to create an easy-to-navigate and easy-to-learn platform.
Pain Point // Data Security Concerns
Data security and privacy are a huge concern for the senior demographic, and user safety must be prioritized, which is why our app implements a verification process where users upload a piece of government ID. without verification, users are still able to access private features on the app, however, they are not able to access any community features or make connections.
We also understand that privacy is a huge concern for this demographic and user safety must be prioritized, which is why we have implemented a verification process where users upload a piece of government ID. Without verification, users will not be able to access any community features or make connections.
04 / Final Features
FOUR MAIN FEATURES…
01
Digital Journal
The digital journal notifies users on their devices with a daily prompt. Users can choose to upload a photo and add a written or recorded caption to the prompt. They can also choose who the post is visible to. If they want, users can also link their external Whatsapp messages and have the entry sent to a family group chat directly through Bloom. This helps bridge distances in remote relationships while staying actively connected.
02
Events
The events page allows users to discover surrounding and upcoming events in their area. To maintain safety, user-run events will only be approved once a select amount of people have joined. Users may only select public recreational areas to host such events in order to regulate user safety.
03
Community Tab
On the connections tab, users can connect with others based on interests or similar locations, with a friends tab make keeping in touch as easy and streamlined as possible.
04
Cognitive Games
The final feature is the cognitive game feature, where users can compete against their friends in a series of games designed to improve mental agility. Bingo, a fan favourite, has been updated to allow for more collaboration and exploration. Every month, a new Bingo, or BLOOM card, refreshes, giving players a set of tasks to complete if they want to win. Other games such as Block Blaster and Sudoku offer mental stimulation and a competitive edge to motivate users and bond over the joy of the game.
we made the end!
05 / Next Steps & Takeaways
Considering the present and the future, we would like to implement a form of revenue streams, by providing local companies to spotlight their events in the community event space (company gets more participants, bloom gains revenue, seniors have more opportunities to socialize in various hobbies). We would like to consider our target audience more, by adding in scalability for all devices to cater for the various screen sizes used by seniors, and implement more accessibility features such as customizable font sizes in the app. In the future, we also look to extend the target market to all ages, to connect all demographics.
If I were to consider redesigns, I would focus more on the color interface—developing clearer reasoning for the color choices—and also improve the use of whitespace, font selection, and other UI elements to enhance the overall visual appeal.
