My mother was many things to many people.
“Grammy” to residents at the campground she enjoyed her summers at. A world-class knitter to the friends and family she gave sweaters to every Christmas. A Life Master, and feared opponent to her duplicate bridge playing counterparts.
She was many things indeed,
but stupid wasn't one of them.
In her later years, it frustrated her to no end as it became difficult to complete, what had been, the simplest of tasks mere months before. Online banking. Programming the microwave. Even changing the channel on the TV became a very stressful task.
It was obvious she needed assistance. I tried to convince her to not get discouraged, but I could feel her pain when I tried to help her use the technology around her. Technology that seemed like it was designed purposely to make her feel stupid.
Interfaces with endless menu levels. Devices that display confusing alert messages. Remote controls with 50 or more buttons. These things are minor annoyances for most of us, but for someone with challenges like my mother had, they were insurmountable barriers.
She eventually refused to use any technology, obviously in the fear that she wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t really blame her.
Then it dawned on me.
My mother wasn't the problem.
It was the technology that was flawed.
As a software developer, I went to work to try and see if better designed technology might be able to solve some of her daily challenges, always keeping in mind the ethos that it had to be non-threatening and usable.
Focussing on singular tasks that create clear, tangible outcomes led to the development of the One Touch Simplicity™ concept. I built the first prototype of the Paige Frame using it and my Mother loved it.
It gave her the ability to easily connect with me in way that she never would have been able to do with a multi-capability smart phone or through a remote-controlled set top device. With her Paige Frame, she just pushed my photo and like magic, I “showed up”. Always on, and always ready, her Paige Frame became an invaluable tool for her.
I built it for with her in mind, but I quickly realized that it had benefits for myself as well. It brought her into the text world I have grown accustomed to. No longer did I have to field intrusive and often inconveniently timed phone calls (“I’m on the toilet Mom, can I call you right back?”). Now I received a text message and I reached back to her as soon as was convenient for me. It sounds callous, but if you’ve lived it, you’ll know it’s a thing! I truly believe it reduced my stress overall and probably resulted in me being a better caregiver.
My Mother was a wonderful person and led a wonderful life. My only hope is that I was able to give back a fraction of that which she gave me.
Peter Kirkpatrick
Co-founder, Paige.