AVRI Stories

AVRI Stories is an innovative mobile app designed to help individuals stay connected with their loved ones, even when physical distance or health challenges like dementia create separation. The app was born from observing residents in care facilities experiencing anxiety, fear, and agitation from missing their families—behavioral challenges that needed a compassionate technological solution.

By allowing users to record themselves reading short stories (approximately 7 minutes each), the app provides a way for family members to share meaningful moments that can be accessed anytime, offering comfort and continuity. Beyond residential care, AVRI Stories serves families separated by distance, parents connecting with children when they can't be present, and anyone wanting to maintain emotional bonds across physical separation.

As Lead UX/UI Designer, I guided the complete product lifecycle from initial discovery through go to market launch, creating a compassionate digital solution available on both iOS and Android that fosters emotional well being and connection across generations.

As Lead UX/UI Designer, I led the full UX process from discovery through launch, managing all phases of design, development coordination, and project delivery.

The concept for AVRI Stories emerged from observing clients in residential facilities experiencing challenging behaviors due to missing their families. These individuals felt anxious, scared, and agitated from the separation, highlighting a critical need for technology enabled family connection that works across distance and time.

Key Challenges

• ✓ Residents in care facilities experiencing anxiety and agitation from missing family members
• ✓ Physical distance preventing families from providing comfort and connection
• ✓ Traditional communication methods requiring real time coordination across schedules and time zones
• ✓ Need for asynchronous, emotionally meaningful connection that can be accessed anytime
• ✓ Lack of engaging, personal content that residents can revisit repeatedly for comfort

Through observations in residential facilities and user research with families, several critical insights emerged that shaped the product design:

Key Insights

• ✓ Behavioral Impact: Separation from family caused measurable anxiety, fear, and agitation in residents, leading to challenging behaviors that affected quality of life
• ✓ Asynchronous Need: Real time communication (calls, video chats) was difficult to coordinate across time zones and schedules—families needed a way to provide comfort on demand
• ✓ Repetition for Comfort: Residents benefited from being able to replay content multiple times, finding repeated comfort in familiar voices and stories
• ✓ Multi Modal Engagement: Combining audio, video, and text allowed users with varying abilities to engage with content in the way that worked best for them
• ✓ Low Barrier to Entry: Email based sharing eliminated technical complexity for both senders and recipients, maximizing adoption
• ✓ Accessibility Priority: Simple, guided recording process encouraged family participation regardless of technical skill level

AVRI Stories (Audio Visual Relationally Interactive Stories) is a cross platform mobile app that allows family members to record themselves reading short stories and share them with loved ones who can watch, listen, and read along anytime—without requiring real time coordination.

How It Works

• ✓ Record: Family members record themselves reading a story (approximately ~7 minutes) through the app's guided interface
• ✓ Share: Stories are shared via email to loved ones, who receive a link to download the free app and access the content
• ✓ View Anytime: Recipients can watch, listen, and read along with the story unlimited times, providing comfort and connection on demand
• ✓ Accessible Pricing: Stories available for $4.99 for the recorder; completely free for recipients to view
• ✓ Cross Platform: Available on both iOS and Android devices, ensuring broad accessibility

Key Features

• ✓ Intuitive recording interface with step by step guidance
• ✓ Email based sharing system for seamless distribution
• ✓ Synchronized text, audio, and video for multi modal engagement
• ✓ Unlimited replay capability for comfort and connection
• ✓ No real time coordination required—perfect for different schedules and time zones

Although AVRI Stories has not yet launched publicly, the project generated strong validation and readiness for pilot testing across care facilities and families.