“The Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge is a global competition that encourages students to design products and services to improve well-being across the lifespan. The 2024 Longevity Design Challenge focused on making life transitions more positive and meaningful for people of all ages.”
Designed for the Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge, LifeQuest is a tablet simulation game designed to help children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) learn important life skills. LifeQuest aims to empower those with IDD to live on their own, make their own decisions, and feel fulfilled and in control of their lives by playing through real-world simulations to improve decision-making and life skills.
The Opportunity: The inspiration for LifeQuest was Josh Murphy, a 19-year-old with Down Syndrome. He has great parents and five siblings who are committed to supporting him throughout his life... but not all ~6.5M people with IDD in the US are so lucky. We asked ourselves - how can we help those with IDD, like Josh, be empowered to live independent lives without having to rely on a caregiver?
The Research: My team and I conducted interviews with parents/families, clinicians, care providers, special education teachers, and individuals with IDD to gain insights into current pain points, gaps in the special education system, independent living concerns, and mobile gaming habits and abilities.
The Competition: Through a competitive analysis, my team and I recognized that there were many existing tools and apps that aimed to teach children and young adults (both with and without IDD) a range of skills. However, we saw a gap in the market for LifeQuest, which is differentiated by its increased motivation to play and learn through gamification and in-game rewards, maximum skill applicability through learning by doing in a simulated real-life environment, maximum skill retention through learning from success and failure instead of memorization, and complete personalization and adaptability to different skill levels through completion of user profile, initial pretest, and in-game performance.
The Product: Using Figma, I developed mockups of a LifeQuest MVP that included functionality such as a learning path, examples of activities, activity progress, and in-game rewards. Ideas for future functionalities include AR/VR simulations and improved personalization based on big data and sophisticated algorithms.
The Marketing: Based on our competitive analysis and product development estimates, my team and I developed a marketing mix that included different purchase options for individuals and clinicians, a free trial, and demos for care providers.
The Launch Strategy: My team and I developed a launch strategy that planned for product development, partnership building, and an initial Chicago-area launch!
Skills Applied
Ethnographic Research
Interviews with caregivers and clinicians validated my team’s initial assumptions about the benefits and functionalities of LifeQuest. Further interviews with clinicians, teachers, and users themselves will add even more valuable context as we continue to develop the product.
Wireframing
I learned how to harness the power of Figma to create wireframes and mockups that clearly conveyed the essence of my product.
Pitching
My team and I pitched LifeQuest at the 2024 Kellogg Venture Challenge and 2024 Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge, where we were awarded 2nd place and 3rd place, respectively. We gained experience pitching our idea to investors and judging and fielding questions.