Echo Park Embark

We were tasked with creating an interactive system that solves a transportation and mobility issue in Los Angeles. Our project focuses on Los Angeles locals and new visitors traveling Echo Park.

Echo Park is a hidden oasis in the heart of the bustling city, but there are many Los Angeles residents and visitors that are unfamiliar with this area. Some of these visitors include low-income households that face economic challenges, hindering their ability to engage in affordable leisurely activities. There’s also a misconception people have about Echo Park caused by gentrification, creating a barrier for people exploring.

Our findings have uncovered several challenges. There is a lack of awareness about the existence of Echo Park, financial constraints that prevent individuals from indulging in additional excursions or experiences, and the unfamiliarity of the area contributes to a sense of insecurity. People need a way to be connected to Echo Park and utilize all that the area has to offer.

We sought to create a user-friendly interactive system that gives Los Angeles locals and visitors a delightful experience in Echo Park; helping them plan, explore and discover things to do in alignment with their budgetary needs.

Echo Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles that has faced gentrification, with many underrepresented communities and businesses moving out. There are many common misconceptions about Echo Park fueled by gentrification, creating a barrier for people to comfortably explore.

We’ve discovered that low-income households face economic challenges that hinder their ability to engage in affordable leisurely activities. Public transportation is the main method of travel for low-income households.

Many people in Los Angeles are unfamiliar with Echo Park. People are unaware of this lush green space that is perfect for leisure, social interaction, and community building.

After identifying some key issues related to Echo Park, we progressed by creating a user persona to help guide us throughout the design process. Meet Julia, a single mom of two who has a difficult time finding fun things to do with her kids away from home. She relies on public transportation which limits her ability to travel across long distances across Los Angeles. Despite this she wants to take her kids out and have a good time without worrying about the amount of money she spends.

Julia informed the team on what types of issues and obstacles she'd be facing. One thing we realized right away is Julia's protective nature over her kids. This showed us tat our digital product needed to provide a sense of comfort and familiarity in order to achieve Julia's trust.

Using our research, user persona, user journey map and our how might we statement, the group went on to ideate different solutions to the issues. The team brainstormed to come up with three potential concepts: Interactive Audio Map, Immerse with Echo and Plan Like a Local.

After pitching our concepts to the rest of the class, we've uncovered common questions, concerns and interests. The group decided to do a whiteboard session to further develop a concept. We compared our different features using the "I like..., I wish..., I wonder..." framework. Along with helping us pin-point successful ideas, this strategy helped us identify flaws within our design thinking.

We decided that pursuing a mix of "Plan Like a Local" and "Immerse with Echo" since both ideas were the most popular among our choices. These features would address the unfamiliarity and discomfort one may feel while commuting to Echo Park. We also sought to incorporate features that directly indicate the prices of things to do in Echo Park. We also wanted to ensure that the user have the ability to plan their routes since commuting in Los Angeles can take an average more time than in other cities. Planning and preparing is essential when commuting over a long-distance, so our users need the ability to visualize their routes as well as having step by step directions on how to get there.

For our low and mid-fidelity screens, the team broke down the different functions of the mobile app into three categories: "My Itineraries," "Explore" and "Map." Within the "My Itineraries" section, users would have the ability to save and create itineraries based the cards they choose to save. Within the "Explore" section, users have the ability to scroll through many cards based on food, activities and events. Within the "Map" section, users would have the ability to navigate their itineraries using step by step directions that would also a humanistic audio feature.

Based on the feedback, the team had to pivot some of our designs. First, many people pointed out that it is unnecessary to create a whole new navigation system. Instead, they advised us to use Google Maps API. We've also received feedback on how it is not practical to have an audio guide if Julia is with her two kids on public transport. Julia would have a hard time focusing on the audio guide. Next, we received feedback that the look and feel of our designs were detached from Echo Park. We needed bring in more of Echo Park's personality. Furthermore, many people wanted to see how our app could really cater to people on a budget. An idea to bring in deals and coupons was noted.

Since Echo Park is historical, creative and artistic place in Los Angeles, we wanted to bring in some more elements to really emulate the neighborhood. We gathered inspiration from the shops, stores and culture of Echo Park to create a more vibrant brand look.

Below are the final screens for Echo Park Embark. Using the feedback we received, we incorporated a deals section, clear onboarding, personalization aspects such as filters and a ready-made itinerary, more information for the businesses, a cohesive look, and an interactive map section to replace the previous navigation section.

This was such a rewarding project because it really expanded my knowledge on UI/UX Design. I thought that the whole process was exciting, beginning to end. I enjoyed discussing ideas with my teammates and brainstorming different solutions to our app. Possible next steps include incorporating a budgeting tool to calculate expenditures, incorporating a navigation feature to assist public transit users, and providing additional information relating to personal safety. Areas of improvement include strengthening communication, project management and doing more research on implementation techniques.