For the first assignment of Translational Research, a course I am taking at The University of Cincinnati, DAAP, the professor challenged students to research of a sensitive topic area. The results of the study were then to be translated into a product or service that we designed. The topic area that I selected is mortality. It’s relevant because previous research showed that young designers often neglect aging populations in project development. I hypothesized that thinking about old people might remind young people of their mortality, causing avoidance. The assignment allowed me to examine my theory and how to possibly foster links between older and younger people. The poster above outlines the key insights and data found during the assignment. In the end, I arrived at a concept that pairs young and old people through storytelling via an online/offline platform (called Short Stories from Long Lives). You may notice that I ended up bypassing the subject of mortality in the final concept. That was due to several ah-ha moments generated via an expert interview and many ideation sessions with key project stakeholders. I learned a lot about the topic of mortality and am excited to study and implement future concepts that better connect older and younger generations. If you want to read more about the project process, click here to download the poster I prepared for the class. I’d be more than happy to discuss the topic and project over a cup of coffee.