Ux & Industrial Design: Biking Visibility & Safety
Overview:
Urban cycling is on the rise, and in denser cities, roads are becoming more difficult to navigate. Our team created a solution that incorporates smart gloves, illuminating sensors, and a mobile app in hopes of fostering mutual respect amongst drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The Ask:
Collaboratively confront contemporary consumer, societal, and technological design challenges. Showcase problem understanding with product design solutions that explore digital and physical aspects of user experiences.
Duration: 3 Months
Team:
UX Designers: Evguenia Anchakova, Lucas Lazdins & Celine Wong
Industrial Designers: Kaida Darkoh & Nicholas Praticante
Contributions: User Interviews, Personas, Empathy Map, Journey Map, Sketching, Wireframes & Mockup.
P R O C E S S
d I S C O V E R
eXPLORATORY|PRIMARY|sECONDARY RESEARCH
WHO: Are key stakeholders?
WHERE: are spaces for intervention?
HOW: Might design solutions be implemented?
User Interviews
Upon creating a discussion guide, 5 user interviews were conducted with participants cycling for: health & performance, commuting, and recreational purposes. Sample questions included:
Can you describe your typical biking experiences while riding in the city?
What aspects of biking do you enjoy & which do you not? Why?
Please describe how you view the relationship between those who share the road (drivers, cyclists, & pedestrians).
What measures or steps could be taken to foster greater respect between these parties?
Are there any safety precautions taken while riding?
Have you ever had an incident when biking while sharing the road with cars? (If yes, please share your story).
What are your current perceptions of biking safety products?
Why do you use/ not use certain products?
How could safety products be improved?
We gathered qualitative data in observation & discussion to understand the problem space from the perspective of end-users. Learned were general attitudes cyclists have around urban biking. Asking about critical incidents would evoke clear, more emotional responses that provided greater detail & insight.
Methodkits
Tech Building Blocks &
Product Development: Application of these kits allowed our team to explore and prioritize several technologies and product development focuses through discussion.
Outcomes: Team alignment, product components, focus points for each stage in the project.
D E F I N E
Persona Development
Creation of multiple personas provided stakeholders with a better understanding of who we are designing for. Since there are so many reasons as to why people bike, it was important that we consider what their values and frustrations may be.
Empathy Map
I created an empathy map that helped us understand user attitudes & motivations behind their actions and thought process.
Journey Map
Developing a journey map identified key pain points at each stage. Common issues turned to needs statements, and would be addressed in our product design.
Problem
SOLUTION
Cyclists don’t feel confident when riding due to low visibility and unpredictable behaviours of others on the road. The oversight of cyclists creates a reactive and defensive riding experience.
In addition to static reflectors and hand signals, incorporate a dynamic illumination feature that clearly outlines respectable biker boundaries. Minimize distractions while providing crucial rider information.
i d e a t e
Product & App Development
Our team used affinity mapping & brainwriting for initial brainstorming activities. Through sketching, we explored various solutions quickly in meetings to collaborate more efficiently.
Developing renders & physical models revealed optimal locations for user interaction and displays.
P R O T O T Y P I N G
Task Flow Diagram
These deliverables re-aligned our design team by establishing user navigation, information architecture, and usability.
Wireframes
Product & Mobile App Mock Up
R e f l e c t i o n s
Collaboration is key. I really enjoyed working with industrial designers not only because of a personal interest in product design, but showcasing both physical and digital solutions that are well-rounded in research and design.
The value of project timelines and good communication with a larger team. I ensured our team had regular meetings, a central working space, and deadlines for deliverables which helped our project run smoother.
Keeping up to date with emerging technological and societal trends is crucial for innovation and addressing user’s current needs.