Chorus

Inspiration

Inspired by those around us with family experiencing memory loss, Chorus serves as a tool for family and friends to create an archive of memories by uploading photos attached with other sensory factors such as music or scents. This helps individuals suffering from memory loss feel comforted, supported, and found. Our application is an important reminder that memories aren't truly gone, they live through the people we love. Maybe a daughter remembers weekend outings, or a son remembers morning traditions. A friend remembers the song that always played on the drive to the beach. Chorus is the place where all of those pieces come together, and given back to a loved one.

What it does

Chorus is a collaborative memory app with two distinct experiences. For the person experiencing memory loss (the memory viewer) the app gently surfaces one memory each day as a gift: a photo, a voice note from someone who loves them, and a song from a meaningful moment in their life. For family and friends (the memory makers) the app is a space to contribute photos, videos, voice notes, written captions, song attachments, and even scent pairings tied to a specific memory. Multiple people can add their own perspective to the same moment which creates a cool and deep multi-voice story of someone's life. The memory map visualizes how memories connect to each other through shared songs, people, and places.

How we built it

Using the Design Thinking Framework, our team navigated through the five phases of design thinking to fully empathize with our users' needs. We built the project in Figma, utilizing many of the app’s tools to develop a responsive and user-friendly interface.

Challenges we ran into

During our research process, we discovered the importance of clearly defining the purpose of our application and its features. Some initial survey participants didn’t understand the purpose of our application, and how it might fit into their lives. This challenge inspired us to ensure clarity in the user flow and branding during the design phase.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud that Chorus feels like a product that genuinely cares. There's lots of clinical tools out there and productivity apps, but this is was designed to feel more warm and human. We're proud of the multi-voice memory model, where multiple contributors can add their own perspective to the same moment, because it captures more of how memory works: it doesn't belong to one person, rather it exists in many people's minds differently. The multi sensory factors that include a suggested smell pairing or food, as well as the audio I think really adds a unique touch and was something we decided to add after doing more research on memories and this topic in general.

What we learned

While collecting data from potential users via our User Interest Survey, we gained insights from healthcare professionals who highlighted the dangers and risks associated with forceful memory recollection in patients.

What's next for Chorus

Next we want to build out a caregiver experience. Right now Chorus serves the memory viewer and the memory makers, but the people providing day-to-day care deserve their own space too. We're thinking a simple dashboard where caregivers can see which memories sparked a reaction, get conversation starters based on what resonated, and leave notes so everyone stays in the loop. Chorus is for everyone who loves someone experiencing memory loss and the caregiver feature is what brings that full circle.

Built With

• figma