Concept Design for a Wheelchair Screen
This concept design was for a screen on an automized wheelchair in airports. It is only a concept done for a client, without being fully fleshed out or fully designed.
Problem and Target Audience
Current wheelchairs provided in airports are simple and straightforward, which aren't the most effective modes of transportation for those who struggle to move easily, especially if they are traveling alone.
The client was creating an automized wheelchair with a touchscreen, designed for the elderly, disabled, or other mobility-limited groups. This meant that accessibility was a huge part of this design- it needed to be incredibly usable for the immobilized groups that would have trouble using tech, particularly the elderly.
It would provide an easier way for these groups to travel alone throughout the airport, letting them move places without guiding the wheelchair manually. They could input their destination and stops along the way, with crucial travel information being easily visible.
Starting Point
I wanted to get a background on what we were hoping to do, in terms of UI and usability. Looking at other travel/flight apps and iOS assets, I wanted to incorporate a visualization of distance from start to end point, to make this easier to understand at a glance, which I got from the United Airlines app and widget.
Having large, easy buttons to add stops was a good start to designing for accessibility, making it very clear and visible, especially since adding stops was a core feature here.
UI Inspiration
Part of my process was looking for visual inspiration on Dribble, figuring out which aesthetic and UI direction best fit the design's needs.
I chose an illustrative design model; I knew that it needed to be accessible with large text, buttons, and imagery. I wanted to have bright illustrations and a more "cute" look, since I thought that large assets and text are inherently a more simplified and playful design.
Initial Designs
I started with the idea of using large tiles for each chunk of information. This trendy and popular style right now felt playful like I wanted and allowed for large information points. I got the color style from an illustration I was using for this concept, which led me to use bright colors, which I knew was part of my plan too.
However, I soon realized that the colors were too bright and loud, which wasn't ideal for non-tech-savvy groups. The tiles also seemed to be too distracting, with the hierarchy of information being difficult to figure out
Finished Concept
I ended up going with a less energetic illustration for this concept (we would've created our own illustration in this theme if we were going to go beyond just a concept), which used milder but still bright colors.
I wanted to use large blocks, like the tiles, to display travel info when checking in to the wheelchair. They drew attention and had better readability with the white background.
I made all of the buttons large and used large text, making it easier to tap and read.
Using the visualization of the trip made it easier to scan and make it more than just text, and I made the most important information, arrival time, take up the most attention on the screen.
The help button in the top right is an illustration of a support person, to make it more personable and communicate that there would be a real person on the other end of that button.
