Designing an events platform for older people
Tech-for-good start-up, Mirthy, wanted an improved digital presence designed for an older age group.
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Two creative routes
Core page template designs, detailed payment flow, and UI kit
Designs met WCAG AA standards and guidelines from The Developer Society's work with AgeUK
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My role: Designer
Agency: The Developer Society
Client: Mirthy
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Mirthy began working with The Developer Society as part of Nesta’s Tech to Connect Challenge – a government funded initiative to develop ideas that can help combat social isolation using technology. Proving its value, Mirthy was acquired by Rest Less in January 2023. Rest Less is “the UK’s fastest growing digital community for the over 50s”, with over 1 million members.
The project
Mirthy is an online events platform, on a mission to reduce social isolation for older people. They partnered with The Developer Society to build a robust Wagtail site with integrated video conferencing and payment systems.
Two creative routes
As the designer on this project I began by working up two creative routes, using brand documentation and the client’s reference materials as a starting point. Although they loved both, option one was a clear favourite.
Page templates
With the route agreed on, I worked up a UI kit and used that to style the three core page templates - the home, catalogue and product pages. After a few tweaks, I handed the kit and templates over to the build team and moved on the main payment flow. We launched with a ‘lite’ version, and then revisited it to add functionality.
Although the template designs were responsive we paid particular attention to the tablet view as this was identified as important for Mirthy's target age group.
Home, Catalogue, and Product page designs
The payment flow
Adding functionality to the payment flow
Accessibility
As with all of The Developer Society’s work, this site was designed to meet WCAG’s AA standard, but in addition, needed to consider the needs of an older age group. We knew that our target audience primarily used tablet devices, followed by laptops, so prioritised these screen sizes. I also used research from the agency’s work for AgeUK to inform some of the key design decisions.
