Buildings vary significantly in terms of accessibility standards. This disparity often becomes problematic when individuals with mobile or sensory disabilities encounter difficulties navigating through these environments.
We decided to develop an app that enables users to rate buildings based on their accessibility. Users can review buildings, share their experiences with specific design issues, and use a rating system. This would give a voice to individuals who feel excluded from certain buildings and inform others about these accessibility challenges.
Client: Wilfrid Laurier University
Role: UX/UI Designer
Tools: Figma
Timeline: 2 Months (October 2022 - December 2022)
Given the short timeline of the project, we were unable to conduct formal user interviews. Instead, we had informal conversations with individuals about the issue of inaccessible buildings and gathered their thoughts. Many highlighted that older buildings often lack elevators or wheelchair-accessible ramps.
Our primary research sources were the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the Ontario Building Code Regulations. These resources provided us with a comprehensive understanding of existing accessibility baselines and guidelines, which will inform the development of our building rating system.
We decided to create an app that allows users to rate buildings based on how accessible they are. Users will be able to review buildings and explain their own experiences with certain design problems, as well as utilize a rating system. This will give a platform to those who feel excluded from certain buildings, as well as inform others about these problems.
Inspired by universal design principles, as well as the previous mentioned research, we created 10 different categories that users would be able to rate from 1-5 on, in order to inform others of how accessible this building is. The 10 categories would then be calculated together to give an average score of the building’s accessibility. The 10 categories consist of:
Are the entrances wide enough to fit wheelchairs through?
Are there ramps and inclines in contrast to stairs? Are there handrails?
Is there an elevator? Ramps?
Is there a wheelchair accessible stall? Is there enough space to get to it?
Are the hallways too narrow to wheel through?
Are the doors too narrow? Heavy?
Are there seating accommodations?
Are the emergency exits clear and accessible to everyone?
Is there brail on the signage? Is it clear enough to read?
Is getting to the building entrance a struggle?
Towards the end of the project, we conducted Guerrilla Testing to identify any issues with the app's functionality. We tested with 5-10 participants and discovered several problems:
We would like to bring together a fully authenticated application, but many things before that must be done. Some tasks include creating a design system (Fonts, color palette, branding, etc.), more iterations of the existing prototype, and improvement on the information architecture of the app.
We would like to implement an upvoting and downvoting system to make sure that the reviews being left are genuine and trusted.
Finally, we would like to create a verification system for loyal reviewers who can instill confidence in their readers that the reviews they leave are genuine.