Design for Aging Society

Discover the factors behind the ZEITLUPE Magazine Pitch and the accessibility considerations.

Reading time about 4 min.

Project start: January 2019

Timeline: 7 Days Pitch-Sprint

Agency: Xeit GmbH - Agency for digital marketing and conversations

Client: ZEITLUPE, a Pro Senectute Switzerland magazine for retirees, plans to relaunch zeitlupe.ch after a successful print redesign. This update aims to boost its online presence and engage seniors.

Services: Desktop Research, Competitor Audit, Ideation, UX, UI, IxD, Accessibility and Ergonomics

Platform: Responsive Website

The job to be done

How might we improve the online reading experience so that retirees can enjoy the ZEITLUPE magazine?

The ZEITLUPE Pitch attracted us. The magazine's ambitious redesign needed to meet current accessibility standards while encouraging visitors to subscribe and actively engage with online and offline services. «We want to win an award in Accessibility. Zeitlupe.ch is setting a new standard in CH for this» Marc Bodmer - external consultant

The Result

Winning a pitch, it’s not all.

It's about your approach and the opportunities to prioritize people and business benefits and focus on thriving business factors such as inclusion, accessibility, and a proficient UX.

Magazine and article page above the fold - member state

In this case, we were first able to convince the decision-makers at Pro Senectute with our arguments and convince them of the visual language of the new online magazine. Everything else is another story.

My Role

UX/UI Lead Designer

As the sole interaction designer at Xeit, I led the ideation and implementation of new web design projects, supporting the agency's full-service digital marketing offerings. For the ZEITLUPE pitch, I collaborated closely with managing partners, a developer, and an SEO expert to explore best practices and develop goal-oriented solutions.

Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint…

For legal reasons, I hide or change some confidential information. Moreover, this is a tiny part of my work and doesn't represent Xeit's official stance.

In short, the pitch approach

Approaching pitches as design sprints.

Analyzing the Brief.
UX and Desktop Research, Competitor Audit.
Ideate the most impactful solutions to satisfy retirees.
Mobile first — with a focus on tablet usage.
Close collaborations with marketing and development to ensure practical proposals.
Illustrate the fundamental principles.
Create the relevant Mock-ups.

Insights in the pitch ideation

By designing for inclusivity, we provide a joyful reading experience for everyone and thus reach more potential customers.

We focused on:

Offering a joyful reading experience By reducing screen cluttering and redundant elements.
Provide orientation and consistency By streamlining the navigation.
Keep the design simple, clear, and unified with the print magazine.

‣

Let's discover some design decisions. By 2027, over 2.2 million retirees will be present, and we want to invite them. This is a growth of 142%. These newly retired people are more familiar with technology, use the Internet regularly, and expect more from applications in terms of use and appearance.

Final Designs

Consistency matters. A good brand experience covers every interaction.

Given Zeitlupe logo and Corporate Design

Mookup of the newly designed Magazine

Redesign Ideas - selection of pitch layouts

Before

After

Provide easy and consistent navigation

As the ZEITLUPE online magazine offers free and paid sections, we have different meta and main navigation states.

Not registered user

Logged in user

Create variety to support orientation.

Varying the page structure can visually differentiate the topic pages.

Homepage

Magazine

Ratgeber

Make the magazine accessible.

As seniors tend to be digitally savvy, and 95% of them use mobile devices regularly, we must provide a responsive platform. This will help us better utilize the advantages of different devices for our readers.

Various screen mock-ups - mobile, tablet, laptop

What the project taught me

What I learned

Utilize online research and resources like Bund für Statistik and W3C to make informed design decisions.
Concentrate on key principles to devise practical solutions that align with business objectives.
Embrace change and remain committed to delivering the best possible outcomes.

What I would do differently

If I were to design for older people again, I would recommend conducting user interviews, research, and prototype testing before implementation. To gain in-depth insights into the needs and challenges older people are experiencing.

Thank you for reading

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