Tunnel Vision

a lo-fi prototype

Many apps exist to help guide people through Subway Stations, as well as the NCSU Wolfline; however, they can be highly difficult to navigate. The lack of user intuitiveness makes it nearly impossible for them to navigate these areas.

Problem

User Story: I need a way to navigate the NSCU Wolfline that is simple to understand and gives me the information I need to get from one place to another seamlessly.

Tunnel Vision was created as a project assigned by the NC State College of Design Graphic and Experience Design Studio.

Branding, User Interface, and Experience Design

Overview

This project engages in a comprehensive design challenge to create an application that includes the use of augmented reality. My partner and I decided to create the LoFi Prototype of an app to aid users in navigating certain areas, such as the NY Subway Station or the NCSU Wolfline Bus System.

  • UI Designer, UX Researcher

  • Esha Macha, Shreeya Joshi

  • 6 weeks

Tunnel Vision is an application designed to scan the user’s surroundings and guide them through their Subway Station while offering immersive experiences through AR overlays. Along with this feature, the application gives detailed information about their transportation’s whereabouts and necessary details.

Solution

The Process

Define the Problem

Ideation

What objectives guide the design of this application

Taking the confusing subway route maps/systems and simplifying them for the user

Implementing AR technology will help visualize directional signals in the real world.

Focusing on areas with less guidance/clarity, such as NY subway Stations and NCSU Wolfline

Ideation Stage:

Task Flow/User Journey Maps

Researched real-world precedents to aid the branding. Leaning into the NY Subway Station’s font Helvetica as well as the color scheme.

Tunnel Vision’s branding represents the NY Subway Systems through its Urban, Playful, and Systematic approach.

It is meant to evoke Metropolitan, Accessible, and Direct,

Personas

The task flow captures the user’s journey through this app. By sketching out every single step that the user would go through to get where they need to, we were able to point out errors in our initial idea and add detail to make the flow seamless.

Usability Testing

Lo-fi Prototype

Personas

Usability Testing

User Journey Map

Reflection

  • College Students going to classes

  • Tourists wanting to minimize travel time

  • New residents learning their way around campus/ NY city

Potential Users?

Branding

Alex Chang is a 25-year-old married Junior Marketing Associate living in NYC New York.

“ I want a simple way to get around independently without stress/confusion.”

Goals:

  • Master the NYC Subway System quickly and confidently

  • Minimize stress and confusion during commutes, especially during peak hours

  • Arrive at meetings and social events on time

  • Use technology to streamline their daily routine

Motivations:

  • Efficiency in getting from point A to point B without delays

  • Avoiding feeling overwhelmed or lost in a new city

  • Leveraging cutting-edge technology to make life easier

  • Building a sense of independence in an unfamiliar environment

Behaviors:

  • Regularly uses mobile apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Yelp for navigation and exploration

  • Reads user reviews and tests multiple apps before settling on one

  • Open to trying AR features but prefers intuitive, straightforward functionality

  • Keeps an eye on phone battery and prefers apps that don’t drain power.

Emily Whitmore is a 25-year-old single Tourist staying in Pune, India.

“ As a foreign traveler, I am unfamiliar with subway systems, and I am interested in finding a simple way for me to get around efficiently.”

Goals:

  • Navigate the subway system confidently without fear of getting lost

  • Spend less time figuring out directions and more time enjoying attractions

  • Easily find nearby exits, landmarks, or points of interest from subway station

  • Avoid unnecessary expenses like taking a cab due to confusion

Motivations:

  • Desire to maximize time and visit as many attractions as possible

  • Frustration with deciphering traditional subway maps and signage

  • Eagerness to share her travel experiences on social media, including photos and stories about the ease of her trip

  • A need for tools that make her feel self-reliant in an unfamiliar city

Behaviors:

  • Relies heavily on her smartphone for navigation, translation, and travel planning

  • Uses apps like Google Maps or Yelp to find directions and reviews

  • Prefers visual, step-by-step instructions over complex text-based directions

  • Often takes quick photos of maps or signs for reference, but finds this inefficient.

These low-fidelity wireframes helped us translate our abstract ideas into concrete user flows to further our research to exemplify the key interactions a user would have with our application. We were able to visualize how AR overlaps and pop-ups would flow with our prototype.

Following the lo-fi prototype, we conducted tests on our work with fellow NCSU students to receive feedback and consider what steps to take to move on to our hi-fi prototype

Likes

Learnings/Reflection

Lo-Fi Prototype

  • Very simplistic/intuitive

  • The AR elements help to understand how to get to their destination more clearly, and feel like other navigations are more confusing

  • All the different routes are available instead of choosing for the user

  • Aesthetically pleasing yet effective

  • Getting lost in NY City while sightseeing

  • Getting late to classes due to bus system confusion

  • First-time subway users getting confused using the maps

Potential Scenarios?

  • Confusion about whether the application takes the user to the bus stop or the final destination

  • Wants the eta to be more visible/bigger on the screen

  • Wants to know how long it will take to walk to the bus stop and how long it will take for the bus to come

Working on tunnel vision enhanced my understanding of prototyping. The conceptualization of including AR elements into my design ideas took my skills to a whole new level. I learned how important branding and simplicity are in a reliable design. I have understood the importance of taking my time with each step of the design process in order to end up with the best possible result during this project. This project enhanced my skills in designing for dynamic workflows, creating intuitive navigation, and leveraging technology like AR to enrich user experiences, all while keeping the focus on cultural authenticity and accessibility.

The Future of Tunnel Vision:

  • Currently, this application was designed for the NCSU Wolfline specifically; however, in the future, we could develop our app to work for NY subway stations

  • We could develop our app to encourage users to utilize the subway/wolfline more.

  • We have only scratched the surface of tinkering with AR through Adobe Aero, but we are looking forward to seeing how we can take our utilization of AR to the next level through our app.

Advices