Project type

Start up

My role

User Research
Interaction Design
Branding
UI Design
Prototyping
User Testing

Tools

Figma
Fig Jam
Whimsical
Notably

Duration

3 months

View Interactive Prototype →

Overview

The Challenge

For people who use wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility devices to get around, inaccessible streets and businesses can be a major obstacle impacting their quality of life.

Uprooted sidewalks, lack of ramps, narrow doorways, and inaccessible bathrooms are some of the barriers that can cause inconvenience and injury when out with a wheelchair.

About WheelBetter

WheelBetter is a mobile app designed to help people who use wheelchairs find accessible things to do in the neighborhoods where they live, work and play.

Wheelbetter aims to make going out more enjoyable, convenient and safe for people who use wheelchairs, by allowing them to check the accessibility features of restaurants, shops and attractions before visiting.

Empathize

Research Goals

We want to learn what’s most important to people with mobility impairments when out using a wheelchair or other mobility device, so that we understand how to help them travel safely and conveniently in the neighborhoods where they live, work and play.

A man in a wheelchair opening his car door

Two women in wheelchairs enjoying dinner and drinks with friends.

Methodologies

UX Research Methods

Market research

User interviews

Contextual inquiries

Persona building

Journey mapping

Usability testing

Insights from Market Research

Disabilitiy impacts all of us at some point.

Up to 1 in 4 (27 percent) adults in the United States have some type of disability. (CDC)

Making the world more accessible benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Finding #1

People in the U.S. who have disabilities that limit their travel outside of the home.

25M

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. DOT - 2022

Finding #2

U.S. adults who have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.

12%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 2023

Finding #3

Estimated number of people in the U.S. who use a wheelchair to get around.

3.3M

Source: North America Wheelchair Market Report 2021

Interviews and contextual inquiries

I conducted remote user interviews with five people who use manual or power wheelchairs. In addition, I traveled with a person who uses a power wheelchair to several restaurants, shops and attractions to observe and document pain points and challenges through in-person contextual inquiries.

Research objectives

Understand how people use wheelchairs outside of their homes.

Learn what's most important to people when using a wheelchair on the go.

Discover any pain points or obstacles that prevent people who use wheelchairs from accessing and enjoying places to eat, shop and play.

Screenshot of user interview with a participant on zoom.

Define

Identifying the problem

The user interviews and contextual inquiries revealed several pain points and challenges that negatively impact people with physical disabilities when out with a wheelchair.

Pain Point

Lack of accessible parking

Fact (what I heard):“To me parking is very important. It’s not just about accessible parking but making sure that there is more than one or two spaces that have the blue lines on the side for a ramp to come out. I’ve gone places and I haven’t been able to find parking so I turned back and go home.”

Insight (what I learned):Without accessible parking it’s not even possible for some people to visit a location.

Opportunity (how I can help)Provide a way for users to verify that there is wheelchair accessible parking before visiting a location

Pain Point

Incorrect accessibility info

Fact (what I heard):“I recently went to a hair salon and the reason I went to that specific hair salon was that online on their Yelp page said it was wheelchair accessible. I drove 40 minutes to this location, and when I got there I noticed there was a step that my power wheelchair couldn't go over.”

Insight (what I learned):Incorrect accessibility information costs people who use wheelchairs time and money, and is extremely frustrating.

Opportunity (how I can help)Provide a way for users to see a list of verified accessibility features before visting a location.

Pain Point

Broken accessibility equipment

Fact (what I heard):“Sometimes public places will have a lift to get into the business or access the pool, but the lift will be broken or the staff don't know how to operate it. Sometimes you make decisions about what hotel you're going to stay in based on the accessibility. Like, ‘oh they have a lift for the pool’ but then you get there, and they haven't used the remote control for months, so it's broken."

Insight (what I learned):It's important to know if accessibility equipment is in working condition.

Opportunity (how I can help)Provide up to date information about accessibility features.

Pain Point

Inaccessible sidewalks

Fact (what I heard):“Getting from my home to the bus stop, and then from the bus stop to wherever I had to go. I used to encounter a lot of challenges. [...] A lot of sidewalks are not accessible. There's poles, there's trees. You know the roots popping up. [...] just a little tiny ledge would make me fall off the chair, especially if I’m going fast.

Insight (what I learned):Inaccessible sidewalks cause injury and inconvenience, and can prevent people from safely accessing a business using their wheelchair.

Opportunity (how I can help)Provide a way for users to view and share community tips about a location, such as the most accessible way to access a business.

Design Opportunity

How might we question

How can we help people who use wheelchairs learn about and verify the wheelchair accessibility features of places to eat, shop and play before they visit?

Competitive analysis

My user interview participants shared that they currently use Yelp, Google Maps, and Trip Advisor to plan their trips. However, they expressed frustration with the limited information about accessibility.

Quote from user interview:

“The other day I went to another restaurant. I wasn't able to go inside at all. It was very frustrating that they had stairs. And like on Yelp, it will say it's wheelchair accessible... It’s like, do you know what that means? Because you are not accessible.”

User Persona

I created a user persona to visually represent my research findings, as a way to align stakeholders and keep our users in focus at each stage of the design process.

Prioritizing features

Creating a roadmap

I explored the impact and effort of key features to determine what to prioritize to meet user needs while balancing technical considerations.

Sitemap

App structure and organization

I created a sitemap to get a birds eye view of for pages are prioritized and linked.

Ideate

Storyboard

Visualizing my UX ideas

Using the user research as a guide, I created a storyboard to get a clearer picture of the user journey and illustrate my ideas for solutions.

User & task flows

Based on my user research findings, I decided to prioritize creating a directory listing app that helps people find wheelchair accessible things to do.

I created user and task flows to determine how the app should work.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

After determining the overall structure and flow of the website, I created wireframes to develop a blueprint of key screens.

Onboarding and selecting preferences

The onboarding process was designed to allow the user to select what types of wheelchair accessible activities they are most interested in.

Searching for wheelchair accessible things to do

The search results and listing details screens highlight the wheelchair accessible features of each location.

Prototype

Logo design

The Wheel Better logo combines a map pin with a wheelchair icon to illustrate its mission to help people find wheelchair accessible things to do in the cities where they live, work and play.

Color

I chose blue and gold for the brand colors. Blue represents the brand values of accessibility and inclusion, freedom and confidence. Gold represents hope, joy, and creativity.

Typography

I choose Inter because it conveys a friendly, modern feeling that helps represent the core values of Wheel Better.

Inter works well on mobile screens, and is ideal for web and accessibility due to its large x-height and variable font sizes.

Design System

I setup a UI component library that includes repeating, scalable web elements, styles and typography to ensure consistency and make high-fidelity prototyping more efficient.

High fidelity prototype

I developed a set of research goals for usability testing and created a high fidelity prototype to test with users

Research Goal #1Evaluate if users are able to easily onboard and feel comfortable sharing their location data and allowing notifications.

Research Goal #2Determine if the “accessibility features” section provides information that is clear, usable and useful to users.

Research Goal #3Identify any pain points or confusion with the design

Test

Usability testing

Usability testing allowed me to collect feedback directly from users in real time in order to validate design and content decisions.

Usability metrics

Success metrics

Can users successfully onboard, search for wheelchair accessible things to do, and leave a rating and review for a business listing?

Satisfaction metrics

How helpful was the list of wheelchair accessibility features for each business listing?

How likely is it that a user would use WheelBetter if it was available?

How likely is it that a user would recommend WheelBetter to a friend, family member or colleague?

Error metrics

Do users perform actions that don’t lead them to the expected solution?

Analyzing test results

Key outcomes

Success rate
4 out of 4 users successfully completed key tasks

User Satisfaction 4 out of 4 users would use WheelBetter and recommend it to someone else.

2 out of 4 users did not feel comfortable enabling notifications.

Error rateTest was free of major errors or pain points

WheelBetter

Project type

My role

Tools

Duration

Overview

The Challenge

About WheelBetter

Empathize

Research Goals

We want to learn what’s most important to people with mobility impairments when out using a wheelchair or other mobility device, so that we understand how to help them travel safely and conveniently in the neighborhoods where they live, work and play.

Methodologies

UX Research Methods

Insights from Market Research

Interviews and contextual inquiries

Research objectives

Define

Identifying the problem

The user interviews and contextual inquiries revealed several pain points and challenges that negatively impact people with physical disabilities when out with a wheelchair.

Lack of accessible parking

Incorrect accessibility info

Broken accessibility equipment

Inaccessible sidewalks

Design Opportunity

How might we question

Competitive analysis

Quote from user interview:

User Persona

Prioritizing features

Creating a roadmap

Sitemap

App structure and organization

Ideate

Storyboard

Visualizing my UX ideas

User & task flows

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Onboarding and selecting preferences

Searching for wheelchair accessible things to do

Prototype

Logo design

Color

Typography

Design System

High fidelity prototype

Test

Usability testing

Usability metrics

Success metrics

Satisfaction metrics

Error metrics

Analyzing test results

Key outcomes

Iterate

Prioritizing Feedback

Prioritizing Feedback

Final prototype

View interactive prototype in Figma

Next Steps

What I Learned

Impact of usability testing

Next steps

Want to discuss this project? I'd be happy to connect with you!

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Want to discuss this project?
I'd be happy to connect with you!