DARIUS ANTONOV
Independent 3D designer & art director,
creating outstanding designs.
Challenge Prompt
I worked at the Elephant Design studio in the Platinum Lab, where I focused on designing for the elderly user group. Given an open-ended brief, I chose to explore the emotional experiences of retirement and old age. With KIKO, my aim was to combat loneliness among the elderly by promoting social interaction
What does KIKO do?
Meet KIKO: the smart, retro-inspired product designed to tackle boredom and loneliness among senior citizens. With its own heartbeat, expressive eyes, and a brain of its own, KIKO is more than just a device – it's a companion that can connect you with other KIKO owners in your locality. Designed with simplicity in mind, KIKO is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Its intuitive design is based on the familiar radio format, which many elderly individuals already know and love.
defining target group
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Senior citizen of age 60 or above
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living in an urban city, working or non working, alone or with family
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could be deterioration of mental or physical health, or both at the same time
research
The project is backed up with intense research and research analysis starting from finding problem areas to secondary surveys to primary interactions with the target subjects. Once the problem area was finalized I went through a validation process since the problem was persistent but not validated clearly by the TG. Working in mental health sector is tricky to work in and problem area should be very well defined.
problem areas & directions
improper communication
loss of companion
boredom
improving communication with
next generation
making lives interesting
curb boredom
someone to talk to : human/ AI/ companion
problem validation technique
The dark green area of the graph represents the result space in which i wanted to land after this entire process was over. I wanted to find hidden pain paints approved by my TG , understand challenges , understand their behavior and demands, understanding reasons behind the choice and figuring the reasons behind those reasons
Survey and analysis
User Interviews
valuable insights
pin point pain points
suggested solutions
understanding behaviors
reasons for choice
incentive study
understanding motivations
Talk about past life
Ask for suggestions in design
locate the roots of the problems
Exchange of personal opinions on the matter
Hypothesis + 5 super users
quick conceptualization and ideation for every direction and approval from super users
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concepts as framework
Your design concept becomes the framework for all your design decisions. We can think of design con-cepts in two ways. Verbal and Visual. I presented my super users with these three concepts and asked them to chose their fav. Listed down their preferences and insights.
Radd IO : helps elderly connect with other elderly in nearby locations through virtual chatrooms on different frequencies.
Glow : the band promotes the idea of remembrance. It connects a grandparent to their grandchildren in a very crude way.
Boota : A smart plant who wants to interact with humans. He is a live plant that an elderly has to foster.
concept validation table
what is a feature box?
A feature box is a curation of desired features across various concepts. I knew the quantity of people rooting for particular features in each concept. I had the numbers so i decided to extract those features and make a separate product altogether, for now known as my feature box.
final concept
A device that connects elderly with other elderly living nearby
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A device that talks back to you and listens to what you have to share
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A device that passes on your legacy
form inspiration and trend study
nomenclature
I used Bouba/Kiki effect to define the characteristics of my product.
Products are inherently devoid of gender but a gender helps humanize machines. This in turn makes interaction with them easier and thats an important consideration. I took in consideration the alphabets that are easy to pronounce.
Kiko would be a charming young self aware boy
details moodboard
concept and form development
The softness and the color of the form makes the device very neutral in nature. It is a very simple design that represents the classic retro boxy form which is timeless and nostalgic to many. The form is characterized and made more human by adding subtle details. Alot of detail has been set into creating the feasible buttons which are easy to understand & operate. Different materials are at play in the form. One that builds the main body & the softer silicon material for the head scoop so that people would want to touch the device again & again.
A retro indelicate form which feels stable and rigid to hold. The size is ideal to grip and makes it a cute device. I have used piono buttons for the ease of tactile interactivity and to invocate nostalgic emotion.
Kiko is manufactured in 6 parts excluding some minor parts like buttons
Notification
on / off slider
(Retro style)
Press to
activate mic
Channel 1 to connect
and hold conversations
with anonymous
elderly nearby
Glows when anyone
goes live on
channel 1 on their Kikos
Press this button
for Kiko to listen
and store your secrets, later
to pass it on to your children
Kiko's charge pad
Channel 2 to connect
and hold conversations
with close friends
(conference)
A sleek design, flushed finishes and nfc or wireless charging pad makes Kiko portable.
He has a soft heartbeat and sleeps just like we do. He listens and reminds elderly of so many things that they would otherwise forget.
Kiko is a personalized secret box and he is also a virtual chatroom for senior citizens
prototyping and techstack
stakeholders and marketing
Thank you!
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