LUISA KOSTER
Big Title
A SOCIAL DINNER SERVICE, DEVELOPED WITH SENIOR CITIZENS
Zäme en Guete is a intergenerational, service design project exploring how shared meals can reduce social isolation and create low-threshold opportunities for connection within neighborhoods.
Developed in collaboration with Innovage CH, the project addresses the challenge that many people, especially seniors and newcomers in Switzerland, lack accessible, informal ways to meet others in their community.Rather than designing a one-off event, the project focuses on structuring a service that enables people to host and join communal dinners easily, fostering social ties through everyday interaction.
ROLE
Service Designer:
Research
Service concept
Workshop facilitation
CONTEXT
Intergenerational Project
Social Integration
Interdisciplinary Module HSLU x Innovage
Spring 2022
METHODS
Co-creation with seniors
Interviews
Service journey mapping
Prototyping
TEAM
Chantal Jaun:
Design Manager
Karolina Pelaez:
Spatial Designer
Lars Kupper:
Illustrator
Luisa Koster:
Service Designer
Senior Citizens:
from Innovage
Mentor:
Florian Hauswirth
OUTCOME
A low-barrier social dining service:
Connecting neighbors through shared meals
CONTEXT
In Switzerland, many people experience social isolation despite living in close physical proximity to others. This particularly affects seniors, newcomers and people without strong local networks.
While formal integration offers exist, they often feel intimidating or require a high level of commitment. At the same time, everyday encounters in neighborhoods are decreasing, leaving few low-threshold opportunities to connect.
CHALLENGE
The challenge is not a lack of interest in connection, but the variety of ways people feel comfortable engaging. Some seek conversation, others prefer listening. Some enjoy spontaneity, others need structure and predictability. Social offers often assume confidence, openness, or extroversion, unintentionally excluding those who engage more cautiously or quietly.
Designing for inclusion therefore means creating entry points that feel safe, flexible, and pressure-free. Any intervention must allow people to participate at their own pace, while still creating opportunities for meaningful interaction and mutual exchange.
Research Question:
How might we enable social connections between people from different generations and backgrounds in a way that accommodates diverse personality types and comfort levels?
User Personas: Different Comfort Levels of Social Participation
The Connector
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
68
Open, curious, sporty
Lives with partner
Staying socially and mentally active
Traditional senior offers feel unengaging
Flexible, modern, intergenerational connections
The Observer
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
74
Introverted, reserved
Lives alone, no relatives
Connection without social pressure
Fear of awkwardness and approaching others
Safe, predictable, low-pressure entry points
The Anchor
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
81
Social, proactive
Strong local network
Contributing to the community
Limited time and capacity
Clear roles, simple coordination, manageable commitment
The Explorer
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
23
Open-minded, curious
Recently moved to Switzerland, shared housing
Building belonging and cultural exchange
Language insecurity, limited local network
Informal, welcoming, low-barrier settings
The Reserved
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
27
Introverted, reflective
Shared housing
Meaningful connections in small groups
Discomfort with forced social interaction
Calm, optional, predictable participation
The Multiplier
Age:
Personality:
Lifestyle:
Motivation:
Barriers:
Needs:
21
Outgoing, confident
Lives at parents home
Enabling social experiences for others
Time constraints, over-responsibility
Lightweight structure, clear boundaries
RESEARCH
The research was grounded in a bi-weekly co-design process with senior citizens from Innovage, which formed the main research foundation of the project.
Together, we explored everyday social experiences, barriers to participation, and different comfort levels of social interaction through mapping and discussion.
Practical aspects such as financial feasibility, organizational effort, and inclusivity were considered throughout to ensure the intervention would work for diverse people in real-life contexts.
METHODS
Co-Design Workshops
Bi-weekly sessions with senior citizens from Innovage
Mapping
Comfort levels of participation, social offer gap map
Reflection
Social needs, feasibility, and inclusivity
Feasibility Considerations
Financial aspects, organizational effort, and long-term viability
Gap Map: Social Offer
INSIGHTS
The research shows that social isolation is not caused by a lack of interest in connection, but by limited access to social participation.
Existing social offers often rely on fixed formats, expectations, or social confidence, which unintentionally exclude people with different comfort levels, life situations, and engagement capacities.
Key Insights: through Co-Design and Reflections
Access is the main barrier, not motivation
Across different age groups and personality types, people express a desire for social connection.
One-size-fits-all formats exclude diverse needs
Many social initiatives are designed around fixed schedules, formal structures, or homogeneous groups.
Commitment expectations discourage participation
High or unclear expectations around time and responsibility discourage low-pressure participation.
Informality alone is not enough
Informality alone is not enough: people need gentle structure to feel safe engaging.
Existing offers rarely enable intergenerational exchange
Most social formats are age-segregated, limiting opportunities for interaction between students, seniors, and people at different life stages.
DESIGN CRITERIA
Based on the research insights, personas, and identified gaps in existing social offers, the following design criteria guided the development of the intervention:
Participation must not require social confidence
The activity must be inclusive for different comfort levels
Structure should support, not pressure
Engagement must remain low-commitment and flexible
The format should enable intergenerational interaction
DESIGN DECISIONS
The following design decisions emerged from the bi-weekly co-design sessions with senior citizens from Innovage and the synthesis of the research insights.
Based on the design criteria, a social dinner was chosen as the intervention format, as sharing a meal provides a familiar, low-pressure activity that supports inclusion and different comfort levels of social participation.
Design Criteria
Required Qualities
Chosen Format
-
Low social pressure
-
Inclusive for different comfort levels
-
Low commitment
-
Intergenerational
-
Familiar everyday activity
-
Participation without verbal performance
-
Gentle structure
-
Flexible engagement
Social Dinner
Empathy Map: Social Participation in form of a social dinner
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
The following design decisions emerged from the bi-weekly co-design sessions with senior citizens from Innovage and the synthesis of the research insights.
Based on the design criteria, a social dinner was chosen as the intervention format, as sharing a meal provides a familiar, low-pressure activity that supports inclusion and different comfort levels of social participation.
Level ONE
Local, physical access
Posters in building entrances are distributed by partner organizations such as Innovage.
Registrations can be made directly by phone, enabling participation without digital access.
Level TWO
Digital access
A newsletter, accessible via the website, informs people about upcoming social dinners in their area and allows direct online registration.
Level THREE
Social extension
Postcards encourage participants to invite someone along, including people outside the neighborhood.
To keep this entry point inclusive, postcards are sent free of charge.
INTERVENTION
The concept was tested in small dinner settings with seniors and students. Adjustments, such as providing conversation starter ideas and ensuring hosts feel comfortable with diverse guests, increased participation confidence. The refined version is implemented in Kanton Schwyz, fostering new connections and expanding organically through word of mouth.
USER JOURNEY : Insights from the Testing Dinner CPostcard Version
C
POSTCARD DESIGN
DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT
The project resulted in a live, flyer website.
After the academic project phase, Zäme en Guete was taken over by Innovage and implemented in the Canton of Obwalden.
During implementation, the concept was adapted to a trusted invitation model, where participants invite two to three people they already know. This adjustment supported accessibility and comfort by building on existing relationships rather than open sign-up.
EFFECT
For participants, the social dinners create low-pressure opportunities to connect with others in a familiar and inclusive setting.
The intervention supports social participation by reducing uncertainty, enabling different comfort levels, and fostering meaningful encounters across generations.
By building on everyday interaction rather than formal social formats, the dinners help participants feel more connected to their neighborhood and more confident engaging in shared social experiences.
For Participants
Creates low-pressure opportunities to meet new people and feel more connected to the local community.
For Organizations
Instructs how simple, user-driven systems can strengthen social networks without large resources.
For Society
Promotes social sustainability by reducing loneliness and building local support networks.
Open Question
What safety measures are needed to make people feel comfortable inviting strangers into their homes?