CHECKMATE
2023
Designed in collaboration with Yeajin Jung and Meagan Lo.
My Role
Full Scope Role
Tools
Miro / Figma
Duration
2 Months
Industry
Health and Wellness
Project Overview
CheckMate is a free app designed to support individuals in their later stages of life by enhancing their overall well-being. Combining science-backed cognitive games, personalised insights, and a focus on social connection, CheckMate empowers users to maintain mental sharpness, build relationships, and proactively manage their health. Its user-friendly interface and focus on independence make it an accessible and engaging tool for a vibrant aging experience.
Project Overview
CheckMate is a free app designed to support individuals in their later stages of life by enhancing their overall well-being. Combining science-backed cognitive games, personalized insights, and a focus on social connection, CheckMate empowers users to maintain mental sharpness, build relationships, and proactively manage their health. Its user-friendly interface and focus on independence make it an accessible and engaging tool for a vibrant aging experience.
Duration
2 Months
Tools
Miro / Figma
My Role
Full-Scope Role
Industry
Health and Wellness
BACKGROUND
Canada's aging population threatens the long-term sustainability of healthcare.
Context
This project was driven by the urgent challenges posed by the aging baby boomer generation, who will all be 65 or older by 2030. The aging of this generation underscores a critical problem; Canada’s social and economic infrastructure is ill-equipped to meet the evolving needs of this growing population. Adressing these issues as early as possible is critical to reduce systemic collapse.
Opportunity
The aging baby boomer population presents a crucial opportunity to address growing challenges in healthcare. Rising demand for resources, increasing costs, caregiver shortages, and systemic disparities highlight the need for innovative solutions. Tackling these issues is essential to prevent a public care crisis and ensure the well-being of the elderly.
Context Mapping
A STEEPV diagram to show the problems posed by the current healthcare climate.
Why Healthy Aging?
The aging population is increasing, and it is anticipated that 24% of North Americans will be 65 by 2030.
As baby boomers enter old age, experts agree that current resources won't suffice for their needs.
RESEARCH
The research phase combined literature reviews and stakeholder interviews to uncover the realities of aging, from loneliness and cognitive decline to the need for independence. These insights revealed the importance of mental stimulation, social connection, and accessible tools to support healthy aging.
Interviews
A selection of open-ended interview questions to ask to stakeholders.
Importance
By 2030, a rising number of elderly individuals are expected to face age-related loneliness, financial vulnerability, and health issues.
Current resources are insufficient to effectively care for their evolving needs, resulting in an impending public care crisis.
Our design solution must guarantee the well-being of the elderly, promoting long, happy, healthy and independent lives.
Problem Statement
As the North American Baby Boomer population enters their elderly stages of life, the strain on healthcare services is amplified - posing unprecedented challenges and heightening financial vulnerability due to inadequate geriatric care services.
How might we address the accessibility to affordable and reliable care for our elderly population, thereby preserving the independence that enables them to age in place, whilst lightening the burdens of their caregivers?
USER PERSONA
The research and mapping phase focused on analysing healthcare trends, Philips’ brand position, and the potential role of AR/VR in surgery and patient care. Through strategic mapping and foresight tools, we identified key opportunity areas where Medi-Smart could create the greatest impact.
Empathy Mapping
To better understand the emotional and practical challenges older adults face, I created an empathy map for Eleanor's persona.
This exercise highlighted the loneliness, loss of motivation, and desire for connection that often accompany aging, and it helped guide the design of CheckMate toward supporting both emotional well-being and independence.
STRATEGY
Building on our research, we defined a strategy focused on three pillars — social connection, cognitive stimulation, and self-monitoring. These became the foundation for CheckMate’s features, ensuring the app directly addressed the needs and challenges identified in our research.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
During concept development, we explored different directions through sketching, storyboarding, and early wireframes. This phase allowed us to translate our strategy into tangible ideas, test possibilities, and begin shaping CheckMate’s core features.
STORYBOARDING
EARLY IDEATION
WIREFRAMING
Higher-Fidelity wireframing then took place on Figma, where each page was meticulously planned, and prototyping flows were drawn between pages.
BRANDING
Branding was an important part of shaping CheckMate’s identity, ensuring the app felt approachable, supportive, and engaging for seniors. From the visual language to the logo and color palette, the brand was designed to balance clarity with warmth - projecting professionalism through a clean black-and-white scheme while reinforcing care, connection, and accessibility at its core.
Logo Design
The animated CheckMate logo embodies the app's core values of care, connection, and companionship.
It symbolises the journey from support and personal growth to fostering social interaction, reflecting on CheckMate's commitment to empowering seniors through holistic well-being and meaningful connections.
TESTING AND OPPORTUNITY SPACE
Testing was essential to understand how CheckMate could genuinely support seniors in their daily lives. By examining real experiences and mapping the service journey, we identified gaps, refined touchpoints, and uncovered opportunities to make the app more accessible, motivating, and impactful.
Usability Testing
Drawing from our research, we created an initial prototype and tested it with users.
Their feedback guided iterative refinements, leading us to enhance the rewards system, introduce an accessibility tab with features like larger font sizes and voice assistance, and improve overall usability.
Usability Testing
Drawing from our research, we created an initial prototype and tested it with users.
Their feedback guided iterative refinements, leading us to enhance the rewards system, introduce an accessibility tab with features like larger font sizes and voice assistance, and improve overall usability.
USER JOURNEY MAPPING
SERVICE BLUEPRINT
FINAL DESIGN
The final design of CheckMate brings together research, strategy, and iteration into an app that supports healthy aging through cognitive games, social connection, and personalized insights. Its clean interface and accessible features empower seniors to stay independent while making wellness engaging and approachable.
USER ONBOARDING
The onboarding process is designed to tailor CheckMate to each user’s unique needs. By collecting information on mobility, activity levels, personal goals, and concerns, the app creates a personalized experience aligned with each individual’s capabilities and aspirations.
This approach ensures accessibility while empowering users to take an active role in maintaining their health and lifestyle.
HOME PAGE
The Home Page and Check-In feature act as the foundation for supporting physical and mental well-being. A quick check-in captures how users are feeling, while the Home Page offers tailored recommendations for social events, skill-building, and health management.
Over time, the content adapts to user input, ensuring ongoing support throughout their wellness journey.
DAILY MISSIONS
The Missions Page supports well-being with daily tasks tailored through periodic self-assessments. These missions encourage seniors to stay active, socially engaged, and connected to their surroundings.
Continuously adapting to user input, the missions remain relevant and motivating, helping users maintain health, sharpen cognition, and foster a sense of accomplishment.
DISCOVER PAGE
The Discover Page fosters both physical and social connections by allowing users to view other seniors in their area – with a transparency of shared interests helping users to form deeper connections.
GAME CENTRE
By seamlessly integrating the Games Page, users can transition to engaging and competitive play with others – ensuring seniors remain socially connected while enjoying cognitive stimulation.
SHOP
CheckMate’s Shop Page turns virtual progress into real-world value. Points earned from games and daily missions can be redeemed for discounts on products and services that match users’ interests.
This feature not only keeps seniors engaged but also provides tangible financial benefits, reinforcing motivation and rewarding active participation.
ACCOUNT PAGE
The Account Page allows users to manage personal details and customise their experience.
Accessibility options such as adjustable font sizes and display settings ensure the app remains comfortable, inclusive, and easy to use for a wide range of needs.
REFLECTIONS
CheckMate was an incredibly valuable project that deepened my understanding of what it means to design for seniors. It challenged me to prioritise health, wellness, and dignity, while balancing accessibility with engagement. I learned how to apply design research methods more effectively, integrate evidence from scientific sources, and translate insights into features that are both practical and impactful.
This process strengthened my skills in user-centred design, service design, and accessibility-driven UX, and it reinforced my belief that caring for others is one of the greatest responsibilities we carry as designers.
Looking ahead, CheckMate holds potential for further development and impact in healthcare. Future opportunities include integrating personalised health insights, generating data-driven reports, and building collaborations with healthcare providers to deliver real-time, tailored support. Beyond its current scope, CheckMate could evolve into a platform that not only motivates seniors to stay active and connected but also helps bridge critical gaps in preventative and ongoing care.
