A product that helps disabled New Yorkers enjoy the city at their best capacity
Navigating around NYC can be confusing and frustrating, especially if you have some disabilities. Only 23% of subway and train stations are currently fully accessible. As a result, disabled New Yorkers prefer not to use public transportation because it makes them feel anxious and unsafe.
Designing a product that creates a personalized traveling experience based on the user’s accessibility type, interests, and location.
It will help the user travel with ease, have the best possible experience at their destination, and connect with other people of the community.
We started the project by conducting extensive research to understand the program goals, our target audience, and their needs.
We assessed our potential competitors' products to understand what works and what does not work for our audience.
of subway and traing station are fully ADA accessible
out of 472 subway stations in NYC are fully accessible
of the total population in NYC live with disabilities
We also conducted a several empathy interviews with people who live/work in New York City. The interviews were conducted online and via emails.
We developed personas that represent our target audience in order to understand their potential behaviors, needs and pain points.
Using journey maps, we analyzed the problem each user may encounter in their daily lives and to find opportunities to improve each situation.
Using the Jobs To Be Done method, we summarized the main consumer problems for them.
Based on the JTBD definitions, we speculated a minimum viable product for each user.
Then we created a taskflow for each user to illustrate potential user engagement and experience with the new product.
Using low and high fidelity prototypes, we confirmed and improved app usability.
For a smooth project hand-off, we developed and organized a cohesive design system.
Augmented reality navigation helps users to quickly find the correct route and information about nearby services as they travel.
Through our empathy interview, we learned that wearable products are highly preferred by our potential users.
So we designed a wearable app that helps users navigate around the city. Its MTA alert function can be activated by a special sound, so users can be notified when there is an audio announcement in progress, and read it in a text format.
Through the accessibility panel, users can customize colors, text size, and contrast to meet their visual needs.
My team designed a new product based on our research and empathy interviews. Having experienced being disabled for a short time myself, I felt passionate about coming up with solutions for disabled travelers. We also learned the importance of getting constant feedback from potential users and learning their core needs.