AUB Diaries: Human Centred Design course recap

Designing a Wayfinding System for Meow Wolf

A couple months ago, I completed my AUB class in Human Centered Design. In my human centered design class, we were challenged to think not just about designing for human end-users in mind, but also considering the environment. It hit me especially hard when listening to a Ted talk that the environment and the earth would go on without us, but us as humans would not survive without the resources that the earth provides. They encouraged us to go beyond just human centered design, but instead to consider "post-human centered design" considering factors beyond just humans and the end user.

We also spent time looking at different user research methods in projects like designing phones for senior citizens, designing internationally, and also just a general process that we could all consider when designing. We looked at wayfinding systems as well, creating user journey maps, looking at the history and challenges of traditional wayfinding systems and suggesting change. I contrasted the New York subway system with the Utah trax system and learned some of the early challenges that came with designing transportation systems.

Getting creative with Meow Wolf Wayfinding

For my Meow Wolf wayfinding system, I tried to make it as accessible and inclusive as possible while still retaining the mystery behind Meow Wolf. I created signage within the experience to help people who were looking to find their way throughout. I also created a quiz that users could take that helped them start the experience based on their "personality," the questions were different enough that people would get different enough answers and in turn reduce the flow of traffic.

Getting to create a color coded map system was also interesting, I did this both as a paper map and in the UI below. It was interesting to create a guided experience for something that I love so much. I enjoyed my time in Meow Wolf.