Project
Sep 2024 - Dec 2024
Student Project
Student Project
Role(s)
Product Designer
Brand Strategist
Brand Strategist
To view a narrated version of my project, click here
Otherwise, please play some music, and enjoy...
Gymnopédie No.1 by Erik Satie
T
his is Sydney.
Sydney’s about to retire after a very successful career.
Despite her financial security, Sydney feels a sense of isolation and emotional contraction.
Even her suburban neighborhood feels different - what once felt like a tight knit community has changed.
This is her story.
Part one: The status quo
T
HE PIT OF SADNESS
Sydney’s social circles have been contracting.
She doesn’t know what to do with her time.
Part two: Entering the extraordinary
T
HE WALK OF
GRADUAL EXCITEMENT
GRADUAL EXCITEMENT
Sydney begins to enjoy
herself on the walk, encountering rather familiar sights on a familiar route.
Part three: The peak of the ordinary
T
HE NOSTALGIC PLATEAU
Sydney reaches the familiar peak, sitting in her familiar bench,
looking out over...
...an unfamiliar scene.
She takes a moment.
...an unfamiliar scene.
She takes a moment.
Part four: The return to status quo
T
HE TREAD OF SAD ACCEPTANCE
Sydney walks back home, head hung low.
There's an unspoken issue—an epidemic of disconnect felt by Gen X and beyond...
"
More than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered socially isolated."
(National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020)
With our tunnel-visioned sprint of progress, there can often feel like there’s no space for the artifacts of the past.
Landline bridges that space with conversation...
T
his is Landline.
Landline can breathe new life into forgotten stories...
Voices woven together into
AI-hosted podcasts
Old photos are stitched into
nostalgic AR experiences
...allowing users to connect with others in their local area and step into the past.
1
Upload your story to a channel local to your area
2
Our AI host weaves together a podcast or an AR experience
3
Step into the past and connect with others
Discovery
Podcast of memories
Add your story
*Landline offers only an interpretive glimpse into the past.
Nostalgic AR
This is Sydney's story, with Landline.
Sydney’s journey of reconciliation with the present has become a rediscovery of the past.
The experience has been heightened, the unfamiliar turned re-familiar.
Allowing every peak to peak higher, but also returning Sydney to an upgraded status quo that is one of community…
The experience has been heightened, the unfamiliar turned re-familiar.
Allowing every peak to peak higher, but also returning Sydney to an upgraded status quo that is one of community…
Let's tell this story, one more time.
T
his is Sydney.
Sydney’s about to retire after a very successful career.
S
ydney decides to use Landline
to rediscover her past, her neighborhood,
to rediscover her past, her neighborhood,
...and her story going forward.
Best part is, Sydney's made some friends along the way.
Best part is, Sydney's made some friends along the way.
The End...?
There's always more to the story.
To continue reading about Landline, the other personas, and the product strategy, feel free to reach out!
Funny enough, this all started as a rebranding of MapQuest. Along the way, a new product opportunity emerged—while there are countless tools for navigating physical spaces (like Maps, GMaps, and moovit), there were none for navigating emotions.
Otherwise, this was an awesome learning experience in product strategy and brand development.
Huge thank you to Nathan Shedroff for the mentorship!
To continue reading about Landline, the other personas, and the product strategy, feel free to reach out!
Funny enough, this all started as a rebranding of MapQuest. Along the way, a new product opportunity emerged—while there are countless tools for navigating physical spaces (like Maps, GMaps, and moovit), there were none for navigating emotions.
Otherwise, this was an awesome learning experience in product strategy and brand development.
Huge thank you to Nathan Shedroff for the mentorship!