Beacon
Helping older adults build confidence online and giving their caregivers time back
Older adults rely on the internet for bills, email and health portals. When something goes wrong, a family member becomes their tech support.
In 6 interviews, the barrier wasn't skill. It was confidence. One older adult had her email taken over by a scammer who asked her contacts for money, and she's been cautious ever since. A Spanish-speaking mother avoided anything in English, especially forms. Their caregivers were stepping in constantly.
As the sole designer, I took Beacon from an early idea for a safer AI browser to a digital literacy platform that places each person at the right level and teaches through real scenarios. In testing, most participants finished tasks on their own with few errors, and their confidence grew after their first lesson.
Role
UX Designer
Context
Designlab UX Academy
Industry
AgeTech
Year
2026
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Methods
Interviews, affinity mapping, personas, card sorting, usability testing
Confidence, not skill, was the barrier
People 60 and older lost $4.9 billion to online fraud in 2024, up 43% from the year before (FBI). Only 26% of internet users 65 and older feel very confident using their devices, and about 3 in 4 need someone to set up a new device or show them how to use it (Pew Research Center, 2015).
I interviewed 3 older adults (ages 55 to 82) and 3 caregivers (ages 24 to 33). Most of my affinity map notes landed under confidence. I built 3 personas from what I heard:
• Josie, 82: "I just figured it out and now it's different again."
• Maria, 55: "If the app is only in English, I don't even try."
• Melanie, 24: "Helping them always takes more time than expected."
One more gap stood out. When older adults turn on large text, many apps break or cut off buttons.
From a safer browser to a place to learn
Early concepts were an AI browser with safety icons on every tab. But the older adults I talked to already used regular web browsers for email, bills and everyday tasks, and they would keep using them. What they were missing was a safe place to build their skills and a way to reach someone they trust when they get stuck. So I made Beacon one place to do both.
Early sketch: a browser with safety icons on each tab
Final: one place to learn and get help
4 decisions that shaped Beacon
1. Place people before they start. A short assessment sets their level before they create an account. No tester felt embarrassed by where they landed.
2. Teach safety through real scenarios. In a card sort, all 4 participants grouped the safety features together. So safety lives in every lesson instead of one menu.
3. Introduce AI gently instead of hiding it. My mentor worried an AI label would intimidate older users. In testing, a helper suggested the opposite: name it AI so they get comfortable with it. I did both. The assistant is called Beacon Assistant, "your guide inside Beacon," and a "What can Beacon AI do?" page explains it in plain words. Lessons like "What is AI?" and "Safe AI use at home" teach the rest.
4. Name every kind of help clearly. Testers mixed up who they would be contacting, so each option now says what it is: Beacon Assistant (AI), your helper (family or friend) and Beacon support (the company).
The words mattered more than the layout
Before testing, I set success measures for completion, errors, confidence, trust and willingness to ask for help. I tested a clickable prototype with 3 older adults and 2 helpers.
• Completion was high, errors were low and everyone loved the zoom button
• I sorted about 30 fixes into high, medium and low priority based on how much each one affected trust
• The top fixes were explaining who the helper is, a password checklist that stays on screen, a tour layered over the real homepage, and lesson labels like Current, Completed and Up next
• I also flagged risks: AI examples that promised too much, mixed wording like "click" vs "tap," and lessons that let people move on after a wrong answer
Before: the Support Center didn't explain who the helper was
After: each way to get help says who you'll reach
Before: the tour was on separate screens
After: tips appear on top of the real homepage
Visual Refresh
After testing, I refreshed the visual design. I wanted Beacon to feel more modern, like the apps and software people already use every day, while still feeling calm. Older adults already use phones and tablets, so a familiar look may help them trust Beacon faster. I changed the main color from teal to a dark plum and added soft gradient backgrounds in light blue, pink and lavender. The lighter colors make it feel brighter and more approachable. The screens in this case study show the refreshed version, which has not been tested with users yet.
Tested version in teal
Refreshed version in plum, not yet tested
What I learned and what's next
Going into testing, I expected the biggest issues to be visual. But small details, like the words on a button, had just as much impact on how confident people felt.
Next, I would:
• Test the refreshed visual design with older adults
• Visit 2 homes to watch people use their own devices
• Build and test a Spanish version with Spanish-speaking participants
• Design and test a mobile view for helpers, who are often on the go
• Run a second round of testing to measure the fixes, like how many people are still confused by "helper"
• Ask for a 1 to 5 confidence rating at the start and end of each session