Product designer

Kelsie Thomas HCI '22 & Maggie Johnston MID '23

September 2021

REsearch + Discovery

No items found.
No items found.

Business & design Opportunites

Service Goals

  • Improved Wayfinding System
  • Centralized Information System
  • Influence Eco-Travel
  • Increase Small Brand Awareness
  • Curate Experiences in Lesser Known Areas
No items found.

Challenges

Building a Scalable Service in the Built Environment

  • The built environment is a vast topic that encapsulates everything from infrastructure to government programs. Narrowing the scope on a niche aspect while also keeping scalability in mind was challenging

Communication and Time Management

  • This project was with two other full-time students, managing our schedules and staying on top of the deadlines was difficult as we all had other projects going on simultaneously.

Distributing Workload Effectively

  • With a team of differing skillsets, it was important our group remained transparent and flexible upfront on our strong suits and strategy in diverting workload.

Overcoming Roadblocks

Navigation Issues

  • During user testing, I was curious in testing a hamburger menu and search justified to the bottom of the screen as it is easier to reach. The hamburger menu created some navigation issues as users struggled to get to the features inside the menu.
  • I simplified the navigation but left the search and more interactive fields justified to the bottom of the screen.

Effective Information Organization

  • A large part of testing was based on the map experience. With a dual map between exploring and curated experiences, users were getting lost and confused differing between the two, primarily on the sorting features.
  • To improve the experience, I increased the size and contrast of the button. I also added it to the sorting function so users know which map they are sorting.
No items found.

Solution

The cohesive solution expands to multiple touchpoints to address users in a physical and digital way:

Roam App:

  • Explore everything going on around the beltline by category.
  • Local businesses can offer enticing deals to bring new customers to their businesses. These deals can be promoted within the app and add value both for the businesses and users
  • Curated experiences offer real-time guidance and information influencing the exploration of new areas
  • Access point based navigation allows for transparent travel on the beltline

Roam Signage:

  • Adaptable to reusable signage
  • Cohesive icon and coloring between signage and app navigation
  • Different Color themes based on section of trail
No items found.

Key takeaways

The impact of meshing digital and physical solutions

  • It is easy to become sucked into the idea that an app design can solve all of our problems, but most of our demographic preferred to avoid digital usage in an outdoor environment.
  • Creating a multiple touchpoint solution that gives accessibility to both stakeholders gave us the ability to leave an impact on more people.

Promo Video

Next PRoject

Calming Carousel