Redesigning Chicago train ticketing machine interface
A 2 weeks project in November 2021 (in Chicago)
IIT Institute of Design (Educational purpose)
Aligning an information display with the user experience
Course - Introduction to Visual Communications
This course provides the fundamentals for conveying visual information in a way that is effective and clear. Through a deep understanding structure and context of content, we learned to apply visual elements, techniques, and principles crafting effective visual messages.
This two-week project entailed deciphering and redesigning an informative and instructional portion on the top of the unit as well as a navigational portion that mapped to different parts of the machine. The primary goal was to understand how people—whose main focus was to catch the train—would need to step through this experience in an efficient way, and to translate that insight into a visual experience.
My Role
Communication Designer
Instructor
Tomoko Ichikawa
Jody Campbell
Challenge
The current CTA Ventra ticketing machine is far from being user-friendly. It took a while for me to figure out how to purchase the ticket with the Ventra machine when I arrived in Chicago in 2021. Not to mention that the device is not intuitive for first-time users, the information provided in the panel above the device is hardly legible, unorganized and hard to skim.
However, it is not easy to redesign the machine's hardware and UIs. Therefore, we needed to find a quick and easy way to redesign the information on the Ventra machine and the info panel above it so that users can easily understand what to get and how to get it to ride the CTA.
Solution
In addition to updating the information panel, I created a gigantic sticker prototype to put on top of the device so I could redesign the information on the machine without changing the hardware.
Approach
1. Understand
Studying the current Ventra machine
Half of us visited two CTA stations near the campus to understand the dimensions of the Ventra machine. Also, we observed other customers using the CTA station and conducted interviews about what they felt about the machines' usability.
Understanding the CTA’s price structure analyzing the info panel
Other half of us looked at the information panel above the Ventra machine in order to familiarize ourselves with the CTA’s price structures.
Visiting one of the CTA stations to experience the ticket purchasing processes
Analyzing the overall CTA experiences by using 5E framework
Analyzing how users can manipulate the machine depending on their purposes
Deciphering the information panel and the price structure
2. Define
By analyzing the information we gathered, I came up with the following design concepts.
Helping users to achieve different goals with minimum steps
Users can do multiple tasks with the machine; buying tickets/passes, checking the value left in the Ventra card, and adding values to the Ventra card. Depending on what they want to do, their starting points on the machine are different. For example, If they wish to purchase tickets/passes, they should start with the touch panel, but if they want to add values to their Ventra card, it’s faster to start by touching the circular sensor at the bottom of the machine. I realized that it is essential to communicate the fare structure first and then how to use this machine with as few steps as possible.
Being visually inclusive
Given the nature of CTA’s services, anyone should be able to manipulate the machine easily, regardless of age, race, language, and educational background. Therefore, I designed the machine part with minimal illustrations so that users with various backgrounds could understand how to use it.
3. Develop
Prototyping posters and getting feedback
Starting with low-fidelity idea sketches and prototypes, I made a 75% scale poster(24in*48in) using InDesign and Illustrator. We printed our artifacts every week so that each of us could get feedback from classmates.
My first iteration
My second iteration
4. Deliver
Finalizing the visuals based on the feedback
Below is a finalized visual!