The message center: enhancing elder communication.

The Message Center is a home-based communication solution specifically designed for elders. Our research indicates that insufficient communication amongst elders causes several challenges in their daily activities such as loneliness, social isolation, and decreased appetite. The biggest cause of these challenges is that elders are increasingly removed from communication technology including email, text messaging, and mobile phones due to cognitive and physical difficulties. To overcome this problem, we incorporate a familiar pen and paper based interaction that allows instantaneous messaging via digital network. By designing the Message Center, we strive to create an easier venue for more active cross-generational communication between elders and younger family members who are often the caregivers. This paper demonstrates a User Sensitive Inclusive Design process from the generation of user needs to the evaluation of prototypes. A key theme of the Message Center project is to show how usable and emotional design derived from a user inclusive design process can encourage elders to adopt new communication technology.