Design Research : Retirement Bingo Game

Designed a prototype aimed at supporting individuals planning for retirement by uncovering and addressing their unique needs. Through empathy interviews, I collected in-depth insights, identified key challenges, and iteratively tested solutions to create a user-centered experience tailored to retirement planning.

Context

Scope : Empathy Interviews, User Research, Journey mapping, Insights analysis, Prototype building
Project : Marketing Insight Studio (California College of the Arts)
Background : In the Marketing Insight Studio project, our team of three designed a user-centered prototype to simplify retirement planning. Through empathy interviews and collaborative research, we developed a comprehensive understanding of users’ retirement planning needs. The result is a prototype offering personalized financial insights and tools for setting and tracking retirement goals, providing a clear and supportive planning experience.
My Contribution :     Research   - Interviewer, Note- taker, Observer, Key Insights
      Design   - Concept Design, Concept Idea, Prototype Testing

How might we equip first-generation college students with financial literacy to secure a confident and fulfilling future?

Approach + Process

For this project, I led a qual-quant research approach, employing multiple methods during an intensive 8-week research sprint. I conducted 4 empathy interviews across various regions of California to explore perspectives on retirement. Additionally, I facilitated 4 prototype testing sessions, with my team conducting 2 more to refine our insights.

Insights & Themes

Insights and Themes

  • Money and retirement were not discussed in the home (especially around children/young adults)

  • People want to feel purpose and to contribute to society beyond a 9-5 job

  • No interest or ability to take cruises or sit idle in retirement

  • Without a Financial consultant it was difficult or impossible to start investing and saving money.

  • Didn’t know about financial planning until it might be too late

Prototype Conceptualization

Every great project begins with an idea. During the ideation phase of our prototype, I was inspired by the idea of making financial literacy both fun and engaging, drawing inspiration from storytelling elements in novels and movies. Through our laddering exercises, we chose to focus on laddering down, as it uncovered more actionable and relatable problems to address.

This process led to the creation of an interactive and educational gaming experience: the Bingo Board Game - Learn While You Play. Designed for individuals starting their journey into financial literacy, the game involves two players competing while engaging in educational activities on the board. A facilitator rolls the dice, announces numbers, and guides the players, blending competition with collaborative learning.

To enhance the user experience, we incorporated QR codes linked to curated websites aligned with the Bingo Board activities. Players explore these resources to uncover their "aha!" moments, learning something new in an engaging and self-directed way.

Laddering Up & Down
First prototype for Bingo Board
QR codes to scan and learn more
Updated Bingo Board
Gathering First Gen students for Bingo Night

Prototype Testing

During our prototype testing in class, we observed how players interacted with the Bingo Board game and gathered feedback on its engagement and clarity. While the game was well-received for its interactive approach, we identified areas for improvement. Based on feedback from prototype testing, we made significant changes to enhance user experience and accessibility. Initially, the QR codes in the game linked to websites with lengthy articles, which some participants found time-consuming and overwhelming. To address this, we replaced the QR codes with links to a YouTube channel featuring 1-minute videos by a host who explained the concepts in a concise and engaging manner. Additionally, instead of requiring participants to read entire articles, we provided summarized versions highlighting key features of the content. This allowed players to grasp the essentials quickly and decide if they wanted to explore the full website later for deeper learning. These adjustments streamlined the learning process, making it more efficient and enjoyable for participants.