Chirp!

Meet Susan Chang

Susan is a 78 year-old woman with 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren. She has been living alone in San Jose, CA since her husband passed away. Her daughter lives nearby but her son has moved to Chicago.

As a retired anthropology professor, Susan likes to stay in touch with her old colleagues. She also participates in volunteer activities and nature walks with members of her church. She loves to read, watch birds in her backyard and spend time with her grandchildren.

Health concerns: High blood pressure

Technology use: She has an iPhone which her grandchildren have helped her learn how to use for taking photographs and accessing email. The phone was given to her by her son who had to move away, but wanted an easy way to keep in touch. She is also familiar with computers from her days in academia.

02 Secondary Persona

Meet Frank Henderson

Frank Henderson is an 84 year old retired real estate agent. His wife passed away about a year ago, and his son convinced him to move in with his family in San Jose so that he wouldn’t be living alone. Frank likes keeping active, but an old knee injury can slow him down when it flares up.

The move to California has changed Frank’s activities. He had played frequent poker games with his friends in New York, but he hasn’t found a new group to play with in California. He has enjoyed the chance to teach his grandson about baseball and watch games with him. He’s also developed an interest in cooking, and is always happy to find something new to try. He joined the nature walk club as a way to make friends with people his own age.

Health concerns: An old knee injury

Technology use: He is not particularly tech savvy. He likes the idea of owning the state of the art, so he’ll frequently buy the latest gadget, but most of the time he doesn’t become good at actually using it. He uses his son’s computer for solitaire and online poker games. He received an iPhone as a gift last Christmas. He likes it because the buttons are bigger than the ones on his old phone, which he sometimes had difficulty using.

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