I started the research process by interviewing participants about their experience traveling. I was particularly focused on aspect fo travelling that made it stressful or painful. the result showed that many people feel really stressed while navigating through an airport. It seems like there are too many factor that can make the experience frustrating.

Along with the interviews, I looked at how other apps make navigation easier. I chose Google map, because it is a great example of how an app can make navigation an easy task, through updated data and good UI

Additionally, I created a journey map to map out the different touch points, thoughts, and feelings of the persona while navigating an airport.  This process helped me have more empathy with the participants and their needs.  

Having the persona created, I formulated problem statements that would help narrow down ideas for the application. I used data from my Google map as an example of an existing app looking for idea to solve this problem.

To find ideas I did a case study analysis of Google map, because it is an app that can show content in different formats. 3D view (Google Earth), 2D (map), and perspective (Street view). This analysis can help find the right view for an app to help users navigate an airport.

After having all the problem statements, I started the Ideation process with the intention of making several UI sketches. Half way to the process, I realized that I needed to figure out how the augmented reality interface would look and how legible should be. Because airport have so many signs and ads everywhere, I knew that the augmented reality needed to stand out so the user can easily read directions within the phone screen.

I created a storyboard after I finished the ideation process.This way I was I able imagine how the user could find the gate to the next a flight. This process gave me more clarity on the steps the user goes through to complete the task. In a way it the defined the steps of the user flow, which subsequently would help defining the first screens for the wireframe.

The next step was to create a user flow that would map out the different screens the user would need to interact with in order to complete the task, which in this case is finding the gate or any desire point in the airport. The user flow in this project was essential to not only create the order of the screens, but the content of the screen itself. In the beginning I didn’t have a clear idea of what the user would see before jumping into the augmented reality interface. I spent a fair amount of time thinking about the flow to complete the task. The user flow helped me ideate the content of the screens and basic UI.

Having the user flow done,  I proceeded to work on the wireframes. In this process I realized how difficult was to do a usability test because real time augmented reality was needed. Given the constraint, I run the screens through participants to get input on legibility of signs and call to action. Another challenge for me was designing the first screen. I wasn’t clear about what was the first thing the user would see in the screen when opening the app. My mentor gave a me a good advice on how app interact with our life. Basically, apps are always ahead of us and the know more of what we are planning to do, where we are heading and if the is any upcoming event in our life. This advice helped me refine the first screen, which shows the user the upcoming trip and options to load the airport map as needed.

As I was working on the wireframes, I started putting together the UI kit. For this I included all UI components, including the augmented reality interface. I used two contrasting colors to makes legibility simple and quick to read.

After I did some minor updates to the high-fidelity wireframe, I ran a usability test. This was very challenging and it ended up very similar to the previous input I received from participants. Basically, I presented the screens and asked for input and placed them in a real situation as much as they were able to imagine. Some interesting insights came out of this test.  It was brought to my attention that while augmented reality can give clear directions, it does not tell the user the overall path to arrive to the final destination. It does not tell whether they have a long way or if they are just around the corner. When a user is not aware of this, frustration can happen. I added a small 2D map in the corner of the screens, so the user can look or even expand for more information about the overall rout to their destination. The rest of the comments focused on the legibility of the arrows compared to background. Everyone agreed that flat and simple graphics would contrast the most against the background. Any hint of shadow or 3D texture could make the signs and arrows blend with the rest of the environment.

I was very excited to work on this project because it aimed to solve a real problem that requires integrating the digital interface into the physical world. However, it was challenging for many reasons. It was hard to run usability tests in a conventional way, so I had figure out a different way to get input from users. Because of the short time I had, it is hard to tell ifI was able to get the same level of input compared to a normal research project. I’m curious to see this project in real life and see how a team figure out ways to run usability tests. On the positive side, the difficulties made this project very unique and interesting, which was one of my goals before starting my UX training.