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Revolutionizing Pedestrian Awareness
Toyota' SafeWave addresses challenges like unclear metro systems and lack of signage, offering customizable notifications to enhance safety for individuals with hearing impairments navigating the city.
2023 (3 months)
Duration
MY Role
UX Researcher
TASK
Product Design
Ethnographic Research
TOOLS USED
Figma
FigJam
In the vibrant and bustling city of New York, individuals with hearing impairments face significant challenges in navigating the urban landscape. Issues such as unclear metro systems, a lack of signage, and unsafe intersections contribute to a sense of insecurity and hinder the seamless integration of this population into the city's dynamic lifestyle. The fast-paced nature of New York exacerbates these hurdles, requiring a focused effort to address the safety and independence concerns of the 20-30 age group with hearing impairments.
Problem
To tackle these challenges, the SafeWave initiative, a collaboration between TMNA and the Pratt Pedestrian Safety Project, proposes a revolutionary solution. By leveraging practical ethnography and user experience research, SafeWave introduces a customizable and accessible user experience tailored for individuals with hearing impairments. This solution incorporates features such as guided journeys, notifications, vibrations, and banners, offering a safer and more confident pedestrian experience in the city. SafeWave's innovative approach strives to enhance the overall inclusivity of New York City, ensuring that everyone can contribute to and benefit from its dynamic tapestry.
Solution
RESEARCH
How can we create a clear ethnographic research process to understand what pedestrians need?
Process
Assumption Mapping
Initial Research
1
2
Secondary Research
Literature Review
3
Observation
Observed people in 2 locations: Rockefeller Center & West 4th
4
Interviews
Deep dive interviews with 3 individuals
5
Diary Study
3 day diary study with 2 individuals
Literature Review
Cities are known to have the most
pedestrian deaths compared to other
places.
Pedestrian Deaths in the 10 Largest U.S. Cities, 2019-2021
Researchers have recently utilized data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reach an important conclusion: over 15 percent of adults reported experiencing hearing issues.
“2.8 percent were injured in an accident within three months of the survey date.”
(Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times)
Pedestrian Deaths in the 10 Largest U.S. Cities, 2010-2021
Insights
People with hearing impairments with a cochlear implant can not hear detailed noises like tire creases, beeps, or footsteps behind them.
Having clear feedback to know if there are any dangers nearby is very important especially in a clustered city.
Opportunity:
Use tactic feedback like vibrations or light to notify users of surroundings and warnings for when vehicles or bicyclists are close by.
Radhika
Not sure what the rules are for cars, bikes, and pedestrians.
Bicycles could let me know from warning from behind on which way they are going the right or left so I could go.
Traintime would have delays, it wasn't clear what updates there were.
Introducing
SafeWave
The best way to get around the city is by providing an accessible and customizable user experience.
Radhika and other users can now commute across the city with a guided journey from taking trains to walking to school, and home.
This would be done by saving specific trains that are used every day, having notifications that can be read by Siri, vibrations, and banners on updates on her train journey and warnings for when there are closeby vehicles in her surroundings.
Users can search destinations and start their journeys to those destinations easily and have step-by-step directions and a clear map layout.
ONE PLACE TO EXPLORE THE
CITY BY PROVIDING GUIDED
JOURNEYS
Users can save and favorite their go-to destinations to have a better the user experience when exploring the city.
HAVE A PERSONALIZED
INTERFACE
PROVIDE ACCESSIBILITY
THROUGH CUSTOMIZED
NOTIFICATIONS
Users can turn on notifications which include banners, vibrations, and read-outs to make it easier for the app to call out changes in surroundings and update the journey easily to the user.
IDEATION
Using the research, how might we help ensure that Radhika and the deaf/hard-of-hearing population have a safe, empowering pedestrian experience?
On the home screen, the users favorites and recents will be highlighted for easy access.
The app will access the phones surroundings and nearby noise to give warnings and notifications of unsafe situations such as close-by vehicles.
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Users can save their most used train/bus lines for a more seamless experience.
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There will be nearby trains that users can access and understand when the next train is coming.
Users can customize their experience by turning certain updates on/off.
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Explored best practices in user interface design by analyzing various scholarship websites, identifying key design goals, and learning from competitors.
Acquired hands-on experience in the UX process by conducting user interviews and research, gaining insights into user needs and preferences.
Enhanced UI skills through iterative design processes and user testing, allowing for a more user-centric and visually appealing website.
Reflection
Further Opportunities
Conduct a Contextual Inquiry
Continue research by shadowing people who are deaf/hard of hearing get around the city to further understand the detailed challenges they have when commuting or being a pedestrian.
Continue Designing and Test Wireframes
The designs for the destination journey should be more flushed out. Conducting user testing can help improve the features and see what is needed or not needed.
REFLECTION
What was the impact that I had with this project and what did I take out of it?
Being new to the city can be hard since people don’t know the subway, traffic and pedestrian rules clearly.
The rules of the subway, bike lanes and traffic signs are constantly not followed which can be hard for new transports.
Opportunity:
Have a guide to include basic subway rules and notifications when to cross and where to get off on trains.
Nouran
There is no way to know which end of the subway platform I should be.
When I moved into the city, I
wanted to be more aware so I don’t wear headphones and I started reading on the subway
Bike lane - what is the
purpose of the little waiting area - do I walk just any time?
Being a young woman in the city at night can receive unwanted attention and when lost and in low-light places, it can be even harder to get home safely.
Navigating the city at night can feel very unsafe, especially in abandoned places with little light and signage.
Opportunity:
Have clear notifications on the next stops and warning signs for unsafe stops and neighborhoods at night.
Hosanna
Guy started throwing trash at time, decided to call an uber cuz didnt want to take a train, waited for uber but the man came back
I started using CityMapper
since the UI is so easy to read and has easy train-to-train
journeys.
One time at night, I couldn’t read the signage since the display was not working so I opened the app.
User Personas
24-year-old Radhika lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently doing her Masters at Pratt Institute while also interning part-time in a Brooklyn Non-Profit organization.
Radhika has been deaf all her life and she recently got a cochlear implant. She is new to the city and is constantly commuting across boroughs. It is hard for her to continuously follow the changing train schedule and walk across campus safely.
Meet Radhika
22-year-old Hosanna lives in Brooklyn, New York. She just graduated from New York University and is an aspiring fashion designer.
Hosanna is constantly running to events and comes home late at night from very unsafe streets and stations. When using displays in trains and busses, some of which tend to be broken and it can be hard to understand what stop she is in, especially at night.
Meet Hosanna
Meet Nouran
28-year-old Nouran just moved to Manhattan, New York from California. She is currently working in a big law firm that takes most of her days and while she is not at work, she is hanging out with friends and walking her dog around the neighborhood.
Nouran is new to the city and is constantly commuting across boroughs. Nouran has constantly noticed the lack of signage and follow-through of traffic signals around the City, she often gets scared about the bike lane etiquette.