Tap&Go Audio Stick

Course & Date: IAT 238 - Foundations of Design & User Experience - August 2025 (Summer 2025 Term).

Collaborators: John, Riley, Rita.

Tools Used: Figma, FigJam, user journey mapping, persona creation, and sketching.

Project Objective: We addressed an accessibility issue at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. Our challenge was: How might we improve access to exhibition information for older adults facing vision, hearing, or language barriers?

Why This Was a Problem: Seniors often find overused QR codes, static wall text, or small labels difficult to engage with. Accessibility barriers can prevent them from fully experiencing cultural spaces.

My Role & Contributions:
• Led ideation sessions with the team and proposed the "Tap&Go Audio Stick."
• Designed the persona Landon Xue (65, impaired vision) to keep user needs central (user-centred goal).
• Refined key features: tactile buttons (play, pause, speed, volume), NFC-based activation, and multi-language audio.
• Documented how Indigenous voices could be incorporated to make content more inclusive.

Challenges & Adaptations:
• Accessibility-first thinking leads to more inclusive design outcomes.
• Small details, like tactile buttons and language options, make a big difference in usability.

Key Insights:
• Balancing technology with a simple layout to avoid overwhelming users while still making the device functional.
• Adapting design decisions after testing scenarios with personas.

Reflection: If I revisited this project, I would prototype a working model for usability testing and gather direct feedback from older adults to validate assumptions.