AR Navigation Concept
Guiding tourists through unfamiliar transit systems with clarity and confidence.
Project
Google Maps Concept
Responsibilities
UX Research, UX Design, Interaction Design
Timeline
3 months
Device
Mobile App
Why improve the public transport navigation experience for tourists
Public transport is essential in major cities, yet for visitors, it can feel overwhelming. In New York City, newcomers often struggle with complex transfers, uptown vs. downtown decisions, and frequent delays. Something essential to exploring a city suddenly feels like a daunting task.
Signs and symbols hold different meaning in different context
Travelers interpret new transit systems through existing mental models and when structures differ, confusion and errors increase.
Directional label assumes local knowledge
First-time subway users can easily misunderstand directional signage, and when mistakes happen, the system provides no easy recovery — resulting in avoidable time loss, and a frustrating experience.
People don't plot out their public transport route in advance
Most travelers rely on real-time decisions rather than pre-planning their entire journey. Users make decisions in the moment. This makes clarity at moments of transition critical.
A tourist’s transit journey
A tourist’s journey through public transport is often shaped by navigating via familiar points of interest, adapting to unexpected subway disruptions, and making sense of complex station layouts along the way.
Why did we choose AR based navigation?
Since we lack the agency to redesign NYC’s physical infrastructure we leveraged AR to bypass the "interpretation tax" entirely. By mapping navigation directly onto the user's field of vision, we eliminate the friction of decoding cryptic symbols and navigating unfamiliar places. For a tourist, it is an overlay on top of the real world, turning a chaotic transit hub into a self-guiding interface.
AR Micro Navigation
Final concept to help tourists traverse unfamiliar public transport systems
Eliminate Direction Guesswork
AR signage highlights Uptown and Downtown entrances before riders enter the station, helping them choose the correct entry point and avoid unnecessary platform changes.
Navigate the Station with Confidence
The app guides tourists step by step through the station, helping them reach the correct platform without deciphering lines, numbers, or color systems.
Predicting the Best Boarding Spot
Real-time crowd insights guide riders to optimal waiting areas on the platform, improving their chances of boarding quickly and comfortably.
Design highlights
Share Custom AR Routes
AR Photo Map for Cultural Discovery
Designing Beyond the First Idea
By detaching from our original concept and focusing on validated user needs, we arrived at a stronger, research-backed solution. This approach enabled us to seamlessly evolve micro-navigation within Google Maps, connecting it to personal sharing, Local Guides, and memory-driven AR layers.
Designing Within a Complex System
Introducing new capabilities into a sophisticated ecosystem like Google Maps required careful restraint to avoid experience rot. Although the concepts were valuable, discoverability—especially for AR-dependent features—could have been stronger. A holistic AR-centered redesign might have created a more seamless and intuitive entry point.