An app to park and navigate in Seattle's waterfront— open during construction.

In 2015, the Downtown Seattle Association launched DowntownSeattleParking.com to mitigate the loss of street parking after the Alaskan Way viaduct was demolished. When bus service was termorarily suspended in 2018, the DSA launched a free shuttle to help visitors navigate.

State funding for the shuttle was coming to an end in the fall of 2019. The DSA was looking for ways to keep the service running through the height of construction.

*This is a school project. The final design was presented to the client, but a live site was not developed.

The website wasn't meeting its user's needs and was starting to show its age. Day-trippers couldn’t use it to get around, locals had trouble finding cheap parking nearby, and tourists didn't understand how the shuttle map worked. The website was also difficult to use one handed, which was a problem for users who were very likely to be driving, carrying bags, or eating.

We conducted a user survey to learn about people’s habits and activities while visiting downtown. Our usability tests showed us what issues people had while using the site and looking for information. My field study revealed the difficulties in actually using the shuttle to get around downtown.

I reworked the color palette, increasing the use of whitespace and adding cool-tinted neutrals for a fresh and versatile palette. Our usability tests showed that the maps were hard to understand. I made new shuttles icons and larger shuttle stops to increase recognition and hint at interactivity. Parking markers also now show dynamic rates for all garages.

The new experience is focused on helping you find what’s around— addressing the client’s goal of encouraging visitors to explore downtown, as well as the user goal of finding the nearest shuttle and parking options. As a means of generating revenue, business owners would be able to promote their listings to receive enhanced business pages and appear as suggestions on the search screen.

The new Explore page shows what’s around you. Here you can find the closest parking options and shuttle stops, or see how to get to popular destinations.

The new Parking section focuses on dynamic information. Map markers show you the current hourly rate of a garage, and the time and date of your trip can be adjusted to see how rates change on weekends or evenings.

Using the new shuttle map, you can easily see where the shuttles are, and the direction they're going. Shuttle stops are more noticeable and provide information that helps you navigate.

It was clear that Sean did an exceptional amount of work on the design and prototype. I think this was one of the strongest designs in class.

Courtney Artuso, Instructor at School of Visual Concepts

‍