UpHold Club
Tasks Undertaken
Secondary Research, Case Study Analysis, Service Design, Stakeholder Mapping, User Testing, User Journey Mapping
Background:
This individual project enables an understanding of research led design towards identifying problems and designing potential solutions within a specific cultural context. As this project follows a research led design approach, a good amount of research was conducted to gauge the nature of the chosen problem space (improving well being of ageing population) and identification of specific problem (tackling social stigma towards ageing population and age-related feelings of loneliness, isolation and lack of productive contribution) within Australia.
Research Process and Key Insights
The research that was conducted was analytical, with statistical data being used to understand the magnitude of the problem and validate its existence. Research into primary components of the ageing populations well being were considered with research being conducted to understand the gaps in existing solutions. The research space was further narrowed down to understand solutions formulated by the government and private sector outside of living spaces of the aged population. Two precedent studies were researched and analysed as a base for identifying very specific gaps while also using them as inspiration for the design of a potentially more impactful solution.
(Diagram of key components of well being for ageing population and how they interact with one another - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
Using the existing system map as foundation, solutions within the living spaces of ageing population were looked into. These included:
Aged care facilities
Intergenerational living spaces
Independent living
Government led care systems
It was found that solutions within the living spaces of aged population were not successful in mitigating or limiting the problem. As a result, the research space was narrowed down to government and private sector attempts to mitigate the problems outside of the living spaces. Such attempts include:
Communal meetings
Creative ageing schemes
Be Connected program
EdTech platforms
Volunteer programs
Intergenerational Learning Australia
From research conducted on the above solutions, the following key guiding insights were found:
Current attempts to mitigate the problem seek only to keep the ageing population occupied
Education led initiatives focus only on giving knowledge rather than empowering with new knowledge
Functional skill development is necessary to help be more adaptive to changing environments and train the mind in problem solving (Wu et al., 2025)
Chosen Precedents
Based the research conducted, two precedents were chosen for deeper analysis. The precedents were chosen on the basis of them fulfilling some aspects of the intended idea of a design solution that was being developed to tackle the aforementioned problem. The two precedents were:
GetSetUp - An EdTech platform targeted at ageing population
Participation Planning (Sport Australia) - A platform enabling innovation in the field of sports participation through the provision of user toolkits (empowering users to create solutions to actual problems based on provided resources and knowledge)
Aside from key feature analysis and semiotic analysis of the respective platforms, the current user journey was mapped for each platform to understand stages in the use of the platform as well as the motivations for the user and potential improvements.
(User Journey Map of GetSetUp platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
(User Journey Map of Participant Planning platform by Sport Australia - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
UpHold Club - Supporting Positive Ageing and Development
UpHold Club is a platform that not only allows users to gain new knowledge in fields that they are interested in but also empowers them with opportunities to contribute to real world problems, using the knowledge they have acquired, through user toolkits. It is derived from certain fundamental concepts such as co-designing, user toolkits for innovation, functional skill development and community interaction.
(User Journey Map of UpHold Club platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
(Close up of Engagement stage of User Journey Map for UpHold Club platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
(Close up of Post Engagement stage of User Journey Map for UpHold Club platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
User testing was conducted through a method called persona based walk-through. Acquaintances assumed the role of persona belonging to the intended target group and went through the service blueprint. This allowed me to understand how a potential user would interact with the service and how the app can cater to different needs of users. Furthermore, it helped to identify gaps in my service design blueprint. Following are some limitations of the current service blueprint:
It does not cater to different languages - Browser based translators are not always reliable
There is no option to announce the users achievements on the platform
The restriction on taking up challenges only in areas that are completely new to the user may be daunting in the early stages of use
There is a lack of exclusivity in relation to the challenges that can be chosen which may result in challenges with IP and acknowledgement
While the persona tests yielded some limitations within the blueprint, results indicated that the design mitigated the problems identified to a good extent
Problem Statement:
How could can social contexts in Australia be redefined such that ageing population is seen as active contributing members of the society, thereby helping them combat feelings of loneliness
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Mentor
Carly Hare
Project Type
Individual (Course Work)
Year
January 2025
Stakeholder Map and User Journey Map
(Stakeholder Map of UpHold Club platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)
(User journey towards high involvement on the UpHold Club platform - Ravi Arun. (2025) Assessment 2. Created for Designing in Context - DDES9013, University of New South Wales)