Overview

Fostering active aging and community engagement in Kwai Tsing District

2020
User Research
UI/UX Design
Web Development

Client
Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation

Program Beneficiary
HKSKH Lady Maclehose Centre

Lady MacLehose Centre, nestled in the mid-levels of Kwai Tsing District, sought to modernize how they engage with elderly residents by moving from traditional, paper-based communication to a digital platform. In response, our team developed GoActive, an innovative online platform tailored to meet the Centre’s goals of improving access and engagement for Hong Kong’s elderly.

Funded by J.C.DISI of PolyU, under the PolyU Jockey Club Operation SoInno program, GoActive enables elderly users to browse and reserve spots for events hosted by the Centre from the comfort of their homes, bridging the accessibility gap for residents and reducing the need for in-person visits just to register. Beyond event reservations, the platform also features a news section to keep users informed about relevant updates, creating a digital community that extends beyond Kwai Tsing to elderly individuals across Hong Kong. This O2O (online-to-offline) model brings the Centre’s offerings directly to users’ fingertips, transforming active aging for the modern era.

The Challenge

Overcoming outreach barriers in a resource-limited environment

The Centre faced significant challenges in reaching potential new members, as well as engaging its existing community. Limited resources—both in terms of budget, staffing, and time—constrained its ability to broaden its audience. Additionally, the existing activity catalogues, often perceived as unappealing and overly formal, failed to capture interest and engage readers. This led to a missed opportunity in attracting non-members and limited the Centre’s ability to fully showcase its activities and events. Our task was to address these outreach limitations, creating a digital platform that could streamline communication and foster a stronger connection with both current and potential members.

The Solution

Creating a digital hub to encourage active aging and social engagement

The GoActive platform was developed to inspire elderly users to explore and participate in activities, fostering a sense of community and promoting well-being. Designed with an intuitive and engaging interface, GoActive allows users to easily discover events, make reservations, and stay connected with the center’s activities—all from the comfort of their own devices. By bridging the gap between physical centers and digital accessibility, GoActive supports an O2O (online-to-offline) model, enabling users to seamlessly transition between online discovery and in-person participation, thus encouraging a more active and connected lifestyle among elderly members.

Key features

Incorporating Centre’s Value

GoActive Interface

Showcasing the Center’s core values as key touchpoints

Insights from our workshops with non-members over 60 emphasized the importance of aligning with the center's values right from the start. By presenting these values as the initial touchpoints on the GoActive platform, we aim to resonate with users on a deeper level, fostering a sense of connection and trust. This approach ensures that newcomers are not only informed about the center’s offerings but also feel aligned with its mission, increasing their interest and likelihood to engage.

Information Clarity: Action & Reaction

GoActive Interface

Ensuring responsive feedback for clearer user interaction

In user testing, we found that delays caused by slow server response or weak WiFi could lead to frustration when users clicked buttons or icons without visible feedback. To address this, we emphasized the importance of implementing responsive visual cues that immediately confirm an action is processing. This reactional component reassures users that their input has been received, enhancing overall usability and reducing uncertainty in navigating the platform.

Visually Consistent

GoActive Interface

Establishing visual consistency with a card-based design

To create a visually cohesive experience, the GoActive platform uses a standardized "card" format, with images positioned at the top and relevant content at the bottom. This approach minimizes the need for staff to constantly source or edit images to match specific styles, tones, or formats, making it easier to maintain a consistent look and feel across all content. By simplifying this process, we reduce the staff's workload while ensuring the platform remains aesthetically unified and engaging for users.

Consistent Interface Elements

GoActive Interface

Creating consistent interface elements to enhance navigation

The GoActive platform employs fixed floating buttons, ensuring key actions are always accessible regardless of scrolling. These buttons remain in a consistent position, helping users establish a mental map of navigation elements. By keeping essential functions like registration within easy reach, the platform reduces navigation friction and enhances usability, especially for elderly users who benefit from a stable and predictable interface layout.

Emojis for Easy Maintenance

GoActive Backend

Leveraging emojis for a familiar and flexible interface

Recognizing that over 90% of our target users are comfortable with WhatsApp, we integrated emojis into GoActive's backend interface. Emojis provide a universal language, offering an extensive and easily recognizable library of icons for categories and events. This approach allows the platform to maintain flexibility; as new event categories arise, staff can assign an emoji without needing a custom icon, reducing maintenance and ensuring ease of use.

A User Centric Approach

A user-centric platform co-created with the community

GoActive was developed with a strong focus on user-centered design, involving both elderly users and staff in every phase. Through design thinking sessions and user engagement, we gained valuable insights into the preferences, behaviors, and challenges of our target audience. Staff workshops were integral to the process, ensuring that the platform’s backend was intuitive and easy to navigate. This collaborative approach not only tailored GoActive to meet user needs but also fostered a sense of ownership among staff, reinforcing the platform’s sustainability.

Design Thinking and User Engagement

Understanding the target users was essential, so we used design thinking and conducted user engagement sessions to explore their habits, behaviors, and preferences. This process allowed us to address their pain points and tailor the platform to their needs.

Staff Workshops

To make the platform sustainable, it was crucial that staff felt confident using the backend system. Through hands-on workshops, we ensured that the backend was accessible, intuitive, and well-suited to the team’s workflow.

Initial Concepts

Refining the visual experience through user feedback

Throughout the design process, we developed multiple iterations to refine the visual narrative of GoActive. Each version was carefully constructed based on user feedback, aiming to enhance usability and align with the preferences of our elderly users. This iterative approach allowed us to continuously optimize the interface, ensuring clarity, accessibility, and a welcoming aesthetic that encourages interaction and engagement with the platform.

Research Report

Explore our in-depth research on the design journey behind the GoActive platform

As part of our collaboration with Lady MacLehose Centre, we developed an in-depth research report documenting the GoActive platform’s journey from initial concept to final execution. This report captures the full scope of our research, stakeholder insights, and iterative design process tailored to Hong Kong’s elderly population.

The publication serves as both a reflective analysis and a practical resource for understanding the methods and decisions that shaped GoActive’s development. It provides a detailed view of each phase, including user research, design workshops, interface prototyping, and key takeaways that contributed to creating a platform that meets the unique needs of active aging for the ‘young old’ in Kwai Tsing and beyond.

READ REPORT →

Impact

GIES 2021

GoActive was showcased at the Gerontech and Innovation Expo and Summit (GIES), Hong Kong’s premier gerontechnology fair, in November 2021, highlighting its innovative approach to supporting active aging.

Project Highlighted

The initiative received attention from the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (Operation SoInno), where it was featured as an exemplar of social innovation for the elderly.

Project Publication

A detailed research report was published by Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation

Note on the usage of AI

Some images on this website and our Instagram account are generated using AI technologies. We use these advanced technologies to support our existing services, enhance narrative and storytelling, and improve the client experience. We believe that generative AI has a valuable place in modern creativity, but it is crucial to ensure that these technologies do not exploit artists' work without explicit permission. We are committed to ethical practices in all aspects of our business, including the use of AI.