Tablet App Case Study

Enhancing Social Connection and Independence in Aging Populations

Experience Gerry Connect in Action

1-Minute Pitch | 5-Minute Product Video

Many older adults struggle with traditional communication tools, leading to frustration and isolation. Gerry Connect was designed to solve this problem—offering a simple, accessible video-calling solution tailored for long-term care, retirement communities, and aging-at-home users.

📌 Below is a quick look at how I designed a simple, intuitive, and frustration-free tool for older adults and their support network.

Overview

Gerry Connect is a tablet application designed to help older adults (e.g. in long-term care) stay connected with their care providers and family members.

Our goal was to create a simple, intuitive, and frustration-free experience that empowers and make video communication effortless for older adults and their support network.

My Role

🎨 Solo Product Designer
🤝 Collaborated with the CEO, CTO, Developers, Sales Leads and Industry Experts
⏳ 6-Month Timeline
🛠️ Utilized Figma, Balsamiq, Miro, Adobe Creative Cloud

The Problem

Older adults often find traditional video communication tools difficult to navigate due to cognitive or physical limitations.

Care providers also struggle with managing video communication remotely, leading to missed calls, frustration, and isolation for older adults and their family members.

Key Challenges

  • Older adults and their family members needed a frustration-free interface with minimal learning curve.

  • Care providers and family members required an efficient way to manage video communication remotely.

  • The tablet had to support video calls and an accessible interface while remaining simple to use.

Discovery & Understanding

User Research & Insights

I conducted preliminary user research with older adults, their family members, and care providers, using:

  • Interviews (20+ participants) to understand frustrations with existing video communication tools

  • Usability tests with older adults to observe pain points first-hand

  • Surveys with older adults, family members, and care providers to identify the biggest tech-related challenges

Key Insights

👵 Older adults struggled with:

  • Maintaining social connection with their loved ones

  • Complex interfaces with too many buttons

  • Small text/icons that were hard to read

  • Multi-step processes just to start a video call

👩‍⚕️ Care providers and family members struggled with:

  • In-person visits with the older adult(s) they care for on a regular basis

  • Constant troubleshooting when older adults got stuck

  • No way to assist remotely

  • Worrying about missed calls

Sample User Research Highlights

📌 Below is a sample of the preliminary user research highlights

User Personas

Collaborating with Gerry Connect's technical and business development teams, I held a Miro brainstorming session to deepen our understanding of user needs. Insights from long-term care home advocates and staff helped define user goals, challenges, tech usage, and success metrics. These findings shaped Gerry Connect’s user personas, guiding product development.

📌 Below is a snapshot of the brainstorming session focused on long-term care (LTC) residents.

User Stories

To humanize my research, I crafted user stories based on real needs:

👵 Doris, 75 – Independent but Struggles with Tech
"I want to easily video call my son without having to remember complicated steps, so I don’t feel isolated."

👴 Joseph, 89 – Limited Mobility & Needs Full Assistance with Technology
"I need my support worker’s help with technology. My hands shake, and I forget how to use new devices. I want an easy way to video call my family."

👨‍⚕️ Brandon, 45 – Family Member
"I want an easy way to check in with my mother via video call, so I can ensure she is okay without always driving to see her in person."

👩‍⚕️ Chloe, 33 – Long-Term Care Staff
"I need a way to remotely assist the residents under my care with their tablet, so I don’t have to constantly visit them to fix small tech issues."

These stories guided my design priorities, ensuring I addressed real pain points with user-centered solutions.

Design Approach

Simplifying the Experience

Armed with user research, I crafted a user journey map and user flow to gain deeper insights into the user's experience. Drawing on these findings, I designed digital wireframes and high-fidelity mockups. This iterative process enabled me to define a clear, accessible, and intuitive feature set, with a focus on simplicity and seamless interaction.

Key Design Elements

✅ Large, high-contrast and easy-to-use buttons for better readability and ease of use.

✅ A minimalist home screen with 9 call buttons to reduce confusion, focusing on key contacts. Call buttons can be toggled by family members and care providers, with the main contact's button being the largest to emphasize its importance.

✅ One-touch to make and accept video call with no complicated menus.

✅ Missed call notifications and video recorded messages for peace of mind when the older adult and their support circle cannot connect right away.

✅ “Drop-in” calls allow older adults with cognitive or physical challenges to receive audio/video calls without screen interaction. Authorized contacts with privacy settings from the dashboard can connect directly without action from the older adult.

✅ Care provider dashboard and companion app for remote management. Call buttons and contacts are managed remotely, reducing confusion for older adults and minimizing accidental changes.

Additional Insights from Design Reviews

🔹 The app should always be in landscape mode for easier handling
🔹 The screen should turn off at night to prevent sleep disruption

User Journey Map: Identifying Pain Points

To better understand pain points, I mapped the user journey for older adults when discovering a video communication app:

Streamlining the User Flow for Incoming/Outgoing Calls

With pain points identified, we optimized the user flow to reduce confusion and unnecessary steps:

📌 Below is the user flow from when the user powers on the tablet to when they engage in an incoming or outgoing call.

Digital Wireframes

Digital wireframes were brainstormed as part of my design process to conceptualize and refine the user experience.

📌 Below is version 1of the digital wireframes brainstormed using Balsamiq.

📌 Below is version 2 of the digital wireframes brainstormed using Balsamiq.

Hi-Fidelity Mockups

A design review with the Gerry Connect team favored Version 1 wireframes, emphasizing contact photos for easy call recognition. Using feedback from Gerry Connect and LTC experts, I refined the high-fidelity mockups, aligning them with brand guidelines.

The Developed Product & Ongoing Testing

Since its launch, Gerry Connect has partnered with five long-term care homes in Ontario and British Columbia to pilot the technology with older adults and their families.

To support ongoing user testing, I lead weekly meetings with each pilot LTC, gathering insights from staff on resident experiences and user feedback. I tailor my questions to better understand the LTC environment, user pain points, and areas for improvement. Additionally, we conducted a qualitative workshop with a home care organization to uncover further insights.

Key User-Requested Features

🔹 Emergency call button for quick access to help
🔹 Daily check-in tool for care providers to track tasks
🔹 Expanded accessibility options (e.g., text zoom for visual impairment)

Using this feedback, I collaborate with the technical development team to refine features and design new solutions, ensuring Gerry Connect continuously evolves to meet user needs.

Outcomes & Impact

🚀 35% easier to use – Older adults reported a significant improvement in ease of use.

📉 25% less troubleshooting – Care providers spent less time resolving tech issues.

🎯 70% adoption rate – Most users preferred Gerry Connect over previous communication methods, enjoying the flexibility to connect on their own schedule.

🛠️ More autonomy – A user-friendly design made technology feel accessible and empowering for older adults.

💬 Less loneliness – Visual feedback encouraged more frequent conversations and social interactions.

👩‍⚕️ Reduced staff burden – Seamless video calls and fewer in-person visit arrangements lowered reliance on expensive staff resources.

🎭 Inclusive participation – Older adults could join recreational activities remotely, ensuring engagement even during outbreaks or mobility challenges.

Testimonials

“With Gerry Connect, connections made through one simple tap can give residents back their independence and strengthen their support system. The chance to see a loved one through video calling can reconnect and improve everyday life for residents in long-term care.”

- Jenny, Recreation Staff at Ontario LTC


“We love using Gerry Connect with our dad. It is a great way to connect with him, not only because of the pandemic restrictions but because it is a 3 hour drive for us. My husband, had a stroke and his mobility issues make travel a challenge. Gerry Connect has been a great way to connect with his father-in-law.”

- Barbara, Family Member in Ontario

Reflections & Next Steps

Gerry Connect successfully bridged the communication gap for older adults and caregivers by prioritizing accessibility and simplicity, empowering users to stay connected effortlessly.

Key Learnings

  • Balancing needs – User needs, business goals, and technical constraints don’t always align; prioritization is key.

  • Accessibility matters – Many users face cognitive and physical challenges, requiring a seamless blend of hardware, software, and support.

  • Durability is essential – Older adults need a rugged, mountable, and drop-proof device for daily use.

  • Practical challenges arise – Keeping the device plugged in, powered on, and within reach is critical for uninterrupted use.

  • Continuous iteration – Product development is ongoing, requiring trade-offs between budget, team capacity, and user impact.

Expanding the Product

Since launching the MVP, Gerry Connect has expanded beyond LTCs to retirement homes and aging-at-home users. This new audience may require more advanced features, driving the need for ongoing improvements such as:

🚀 Gerry Connect 3.0 – A streamlined version with faster onboarding and enhanced navigation for improved efficiency.

🔗 One-Stop Service Hub – Expanding Gerry Connect into a comprehensive platform offering health services, entertainment, and community resources in one place.

Curious about designing for accessibility and older adults? Let’s connect and chat about user-centered innovation!