CATEGORY
Service Design, Experience Design
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Royal College of Art
PARTNER
Service Design, Design Research, Strategy Planning, UX Design
MY ROLE
Elevating Leisure Centres for
Elderly Mutual Support
MISSION
FitCare
Fostering Inclusive Community Fitness Service
Collaborating closely with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, our mission is to forecast the future landscape of fitness and well-being. The trajectory leans towards high-tech and virtual formats, yet challenges arise with potentially high costs and exclusivity.
Our objective is to optimize the utilization of the council's current equipment and resources to address societal challenges, ensuring that marginalized groups are not overlooked. We strive for equal leisure opportunities for all, transforming the leisure centre into a focal point of opportunity.
Background
Desk Research
Target Users: Understanding what problem are we solving and what are the potentials
The fitness of the future include virtual solutions, wearable tech, and an emphasis on mental health. Despite the transformative potential of these high-tech features, their costs could contribute to health inequality and interpersonal alienation, especially impacting lower-income groups. Striking a balance between innovation and accessibility is crucial to ensure a more inclusive and equitable fitness future.
What are the future fitness trends?
As recipients of government subsidies, leisure centres offer affordability, enhanced accessibility, and foster community connections. Collaboration with the NHS enables the provision of social prescriptions, presenting a leisure option for economically disadvantaged groups within the community.
Why Leisure Centre?
User Research
Who are the main users?
The main users primarily consist of families and individuals from the local community. A significant portion is aged 65 and above, emphasizing a focus on serving the elderly population.
Who are the service providers?
Service providers encompass facility maintainers, coaches, and volunteers. Among them, fitness coaches maintain the closest contact and connection with users.
Target Users: Understanding who are we designing for
Elderly users' pain points
Beyond physical training, older users expressed a desire for social interaction, seeking opportunities to share their thoughts with others.
Coaches' pain points
People prefer younger, more physically fit coaches. Despite the wealth of experience and their desire to make contributions, their value is often overlooked.
Opportunity
Therefore, we believe:
With the advent of an ageing society and the significant increase in the elderly population, both coaches and users face greater challenges. Why not combine the two groups and let them help each other create a wellness community?
'How Might We' Statement
How might we design a service system that facilitates mutual support among them?
Solution
Concept
FitCare unfolds within the leisure centre, generating fresh career avenues for experienced coaches in later life by leveraging available community space. These coaches, armed with their expertise and NHS connections, craft personalized exercise regimens for elderly fitness enthusiasts, fostering knowledge exchange. The program extends beyond physical health, offering spiritual support and empathy to enrich community cohesion.
Strategy & Scenario Planning
Cohesion
STAGE 3
STAGE 2
Activation
STAGE 1
Prescription
Confirm requirements
After consulting with the GP, the backend system will alert the coach about the prescribed plan.
Engage in physical activities guided by experienced coaches while sharing life experiences with others.
Get moving
Connect with peers in the community, fostering a sense of spiritual nourishment and care.
Community thrives
User Experience
How FitCare Works Within The System?
Prototype
After mapping out the service system, we visited the leisure centre to showcase our services alongside the coach, assess the process and feasibility of the service system, and gather valuable feedback ideas.
“ Working for long hours is quite tiring and I want to slow down now and work for organisations like this ”
- feedback from Ted, swimming trainer from Kensington Leisure Centre
“The Service Model should work, as elderly people prefer to be trained by older coaches because of their similar life experiences ”
- feedback from Caroline, facilitator from
Kensington Leisure Centre
“ Getting funding is a complicated task. It would be quite nice if the government can directly fund us ”
- feedback from Caroline, manager from
Kensington Leisure Centre
