Redesigning Urban Mobility
Making public transit feel intuitive for first-time riders
Moving to a new city means confronting an unfamiliar transit system — confusing maps, unclear fare structures, and the anxiety of missing your stop. For my capstone project, I designed a companion app that breaks down the barrier between newcomers and public transit.
Understanding the challenge
Through interviews with 12 recent city transplants, I discovered that existing transit apps assume familiarity. They optimize for speed and efficiency but neglect the learning curve. Participants described feeling "stupid" when they couldn't figure out fare zones, or anxious about which exit to take at a station they'd never visited. The problem wasn't the transit system itself — it was the absence of contextual guidance for people still building their mental model.
How I got there
Started with diary studies — participants logged their transit experiences for two weeks, capturing moments of confusion and delight. This surfaced patterns that interviews alone would have missed.
Synthesized findings into three core personas representing different relationships with uncertainty: the planner, the improviser, and the avoider.
Ran a co-design workshop where participants sketched their ideal "first ride" experience. The strongest insight: people wanted a companion, not a calculator.
Iterated through three major design cycles, testing mid-fidelity prototypes with 8 participants using Maze for unmoderated testing and in-person sessions for contextual feedback.
Add a caption describing this image — wireframes, research wall, sketches, etc.
What I designed
The final design centers on a "Journey Mode" that provides step-by-step, contextual guidance — not just directions, but explanations. When approaching a fare gate, it shows exactly what to tap and where. When nearing your stop, it alerts you with landmarks to watch for. The visual language uses large, calm typography and a muted palette to counterbalance the sensory overload of a busy station.
Results & reflections
Usability testing showed a 73% reduction in reported anxiety for first-time route completion. The "Journey Mode" concept was praised by faculty for reframing transit apps from utility tools to learning companions. This project earned distinction at our department's final review.
Key takeaway
The biggest lesson was that my first instinct — to pack the interface with helpful information — was exactly wrong. Reducing information to only what's needed *right now* was the harder, better design decision.
Next project
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