The Digital Concierge serves as a welcoming beacon, offering interactive guidance that helps visitors quickly and comprehensively discover the richness of Esplanade’s offerings.
Designing Singapore’s National Performing Arts Digital Concierge Experience
Task
Cross-functional collaboration, Design Sprint, Usability Testing, Rapid Prototyping
Esplanade, Singapore’s National Performing Arts Centre, is renowned not only as a haven for arts enthusiasts but also as a prominent landmark frequently traversed by visitors.
Many of these visitors, including tourists and locals alike, enter Esplanade without realizing its cultural significance or the wide array of accessible performances, activities, and amenities it offers. The digital kiosk was strategically designed to capture the attention of these visitors, providing them with a quick yet comprehensive introduction to Esplanade as a key cultural hub in Singapore.
Visitor Awareness
A significant challenge was that many visitors, particularly tourists, enter Esplanade without any prior knowledge of its status as Singapore’s national performing arts centre. This lack of awareness meant they often missed the opportunity to explore its rich cultural offerings and experience the full breadth of what Esplanade has to offer.
Engagement and Navigation
With its multiple entrances and complex layout, there was a critical need to guide visitors effectively at Esplanade. The digital kiosk was introduced to help visitors effortlessly discover performances, shops, restaurants, and other cultural offerings, enhancing their overall experience and making it easier for them to navigate the venue.
Cultural Promotion
It was essential to enhance the visibility of ongoing and upcoming events to encourage spontaneous visits and extended stays, thereby deepening visitors’ engagement with the arts and promoting a greater appreciation for the cultural experiences available at Esplanade.
Research Objective
The goal of our research was to deeply understand who our visitors are, what their goals, needs, and the context of their visits are. We aimed to identify their pain points and motivations and uncover opportunities to enhance their start-to-end journey at Esplanade. A critical part of this research was to determine how the digital kiosk could address these needs and improve the overall visitor experience.
To achieve a comprehensive understanding, I have employed a mixed-methods approach combining both primary and secondary research.
Visitor Information Processing
Visitors, particularly first-timers, can be overwhelmed by too much information upon entry. It is essential to present only the most critical details to prevent cognitive overload which results in disinterest.
Design for Inclusivity and Accessibility
Design strategies should cater to a diverse range of visitors, including persons with different physical and sensory abilities. It’s essential to make sure visitors can easily access and use the facilities, ensuring a welcoming environment for everyone.
Wayfinding Needs
First-time visitors or those who rarely visit, need clear wayfinding assistance to navigate Esplanade effectively. Clear and intuitive wayfinding solutions are crucial to help them discover all that Esplanade has to offer, enhancing their overall experience.
However, wayfinding is a complex process with many aspects to consider. A single touchpoint is not enough to address all wayfinding challenges. Instead, multiple coordinated touchpoints throughout the centre are required to ensure a seamless and comprehensive navigation experience for all visitors.
01.
Provide visitors with immediate orientation upon entering Esplanade to ensure they know where they are and can easily access information about the venue?
02.
Ensure that visitors are well-informed about the activities of the day at Esplanade, including events, amenities, and promotions?
03.
Help visitors, especially those with accessibility needs, navigate efficiently to their event venues and amenities within Esplanade?
Install digital kiosks at key entry points that welcome visitors and provide comprehensive venue information immediately upon arrival.
Leverage on existing systems to populate event, and mall information automatically. Frequent refreshes will ensure the information in the kiosk is kept up to date.
Support wayfinding by providing interactive mobile maps to help direct visitors to their location.
I created the wireframes to help with visualisation. It aided conversations with stakeholders and inspired more ideas to help shape the final product.
The digital kiosk was designed to give visitors an immediate sense of arrival, allowing visitors to know where they are at upon entry. The kiosk ensures that either the idle screen or the home screen is always active after a period of inactivity, with a dedicated section to warmly welcome visitors to the venue.
On the first interaction, visitors will be informed of what Esplanade has to offer, highlighting events and promotions that are ending soon to ensure visitors have the opportunity to attend them from their first interaction.
The kiosk features a dedicated page that lists all the events happening throughout the day, automatically updating to remove past events. Events are categorised into ‘All’, ‘Ticketed’, and ‘Free’, allowing users to easily select what they’re interested in. Additionally, visitors can filter events by specific hours to plan their visit around their availability.
Each event tile on this page provides essential information at a glance, including the start time, duration, location, genre, and artist, accompanied by an image and a short synopsis. Events are also clearly marked as ‘Free’ and/or ‘Online’ where applicable, ensuring that visitors can quickly understand the nature of each event.
The kiosk is thoughtfully designed to not only feature events at Esplanade but also bring attention to the diverse offerings of Esplanade Mall. This ensures that visitors are well-informed about the full spectrum of experiences available, including shopping, dining, and entertainment.
The Centre Map is designed to help visitors navigate Esplanade effectively. It includes a detailed map with legends and universal icons that mark various amenities, ensuring clarity and ease of use. The map’s areas are color-coded to distinguish between Eat & Drink locations, Shop & Relax shops, and performance venues. Additionally, essential information about the information counter and box office is prominently displayed, aiding visitors in finding these key services quickly.
Due to system limitations, the wayfinding solution provided is static. However, as a workaround, a QR code is included on the screen. Visitors can scan this code to download the map onto their phones, allowing them to refer to it throughout their visit for continuous, convenient navigation.
The kiosk is designed with accessibility in mind, especially for physically less-abled individuals. The UI layout is thoughtfully arranged so that all interactive elements like buttons and QR codes are within reach (<120cm), and essential information is displayed at eye level for easy viewing. The large screen size ensures that text is legible from at least 5 feet away, accommodating visitors with poor eyesight without difficulty.
In terms of visual accessibility, the color contrast will be tested against the WCAG guidelines to achieve at least an AA rating, ensuring that text and interactive elements stand out clearly for all users.
This project successfully developed a digital kiosk for Esplanade to improve visitor orientation and information accessibility. The kiosk’s design includes a welcoming section that greets visitors upon entry, real-time displays of current and upcoming events, and an integrated mall directory showcasing promotions and shop categories.
It offers a detailed Centre Map to aids navigation, with a QR code allowing visitors to download the map for ongoing reference.
Designed with accessibility in mind, the kiosk’s layout ensures all interactive elements are within reach and essential information is at eye level. Text visibility from a distance and high color contrast meeting WCAG AA standards make it user-friendly for those with physical and visual impairments.
While the UI/UX phase of this project was completed successfully, the deployment was put on hold due to COVID-19, as hygiene concerns reduced the usage of public touchpoints.
This project was reassessed with the aim of integrating a more holistic wayfinding solution.