Reaction All Years

This project embarked when the Center for Air Travel Research in Canada reached out to our class with a problem: How can we improve a passenger’s air travel experience? Air travel is a mode that has been used by many for years. Despite having policies and guidelines that are used to ensure a satisfactory user experience, many passengers have encountered negative air travel experiences.

Our team consequently opted to focus on wayfinding, with a strong emphasis on wheelchair users over the age of 18. Our area of focus was improving signage to enhance the wayfinding experience for wheelchair users, making navigation more accessible and inclusive hence our problem statement:
How does current airport signage affect wheelchair users’ wayfinding experience?

We began by conducting a literature review to gain a comprehensive understanding of existing efforts to facilitate navigation for wheelchair users, as well as to explore the airport and signage policies and guidelines that are followed when designing wayfinding facilities.Having found that there is a clear gap between the policies and guidelines given and the airport wayfinding facilities, it was time to now conduct our research to find out whether the airport wayfinding facilities in play hinder, or contribute to a wheelchair user’s wayfinding experience.

We learned how to conduct a mixed methods study consisting of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. We used UX research practices to design, test, and iterate a questionnaire, which received 47 responses from a diverse range of participants. We then conducted 14 interviews in total from both our participants and SMEs, to get a deeper understanding of the “why” of the questionnaire responses. Next, we organized all of the qualitative and quantitative data to conduct comparative analysis. After analysis, we developed insights and recommendations based on what we found in our research.

Having gathered the qualitative and quantitative data, we made a conscious effort to sort them in a manner that enabled comparison. Based on this analysis, we were able to come up with interventions and possible designs that would help in tackling the observed problems.
Our research indicated that the current wayfinding and signage at airports do not effectively meet the needs of wheelchair users. The signage frequently lacks context and is poorly positioned, failing to provide wheelchair users with the required reassurance while navigating the airport. Our proposed design attempts to eliminate passenger doubt and confusion while increasing wheelchair users’ independence while navigating, which they highly value.

In summary, our project emphasizes the need of inclusive and accessible navigation solutions in airports, as well as the need for improved signage to properly support wheelchair users. Having navigation maps with clear markings of accessible features empowers wheelchair users to navigate airports independently and confidently, enhancing their overall travel experience.

Developed UX/UI design for an independent film streaming platform. Created detailed design documents, wireframes, colour schemes, typography, and layouts. Delivered a comprehensive style guide and HTML/CSS templates ensuring accessibility and usability across all devices.

For this study, we used a mixed-method approach. We began with a screening questionnaire survey and then proceeded with semi-structured interviews. Both the survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews gathered quantitative and qualitative data.

A considerably large number of respondents or 38.6% rated the public announcement system as 1 which is an indication of dissatisfaction and 28.1% of participants evaluated this condition as 2. This indicates that the level of overall satisfaction with the public announcement system at the airport is low and the majority of passengers are dissatisfied with it. This data can indicate a specific service gap of the airports observed, which could be related to the quality, loudness, or functionality of their announcement system. The findings also reveal that the majority of travellers, 80.4%, do request assistance from the airport staff, further emphasizing how crucial it is to have competent and approachable staff to offer help.

It was found that participants had different experiences with the support staff at different airports. The reason behind this massive difference in their experience because most of the airport staff has not been trained on how to identify passengers with invisible disabilities in particular hearing impairments. The participants also shared that the fluctuation in the level of support provided by the staff depended on the individual airport management’s decision and the extent to which the staff wanted to assist.

In addition, passengers lack visual information since auditory information is conditional on a passenger’s distance from the source of the announcement. Some participants complained that often, information shared over the public address systems could hardly be heard because of noise and bad acoustics, where one was not close to the source of the information. Increasing the amount of visual information displayed or the regularity of text alerts could provide a much better experience for the entire population despite the minority whose primary form of information is actually sound.

The lack of confidence while navigating the airport is captured by the fact that passengers lack knowledge of the existing assistive technologies. Some of the participants were answerable that they had no idea about some of the facilities presently in place at the airports like the hearing loops and text alert systems which could have eased their way around the airport or made it possible for them to do it on their own. Thus, it leads to an increased level of stress in their solitary traveling conditions and more reliance on other travelers.

By identifying these challenges, this study aimed to contribute to the understanding of how the air travel industry can improve communication to help increase the accessibility and overall satisfaction of all passengers.

Team ImmersiVerse Design, composed of six members from the Interactive Media Design program, was tasked with redesigning the GHS Enterprise website. Our client, Greg Smith, CEO of GHS Enterprise, wanted to enhance the original website’s appeal and functionality, ensuring that the new design was reflective of the company’s revised mission statement. The redesign focused on modernizing the website’s visual design, simplifying navigation, improving the interactive iceberg feature, and reducing reliance on WordPress plugins. Our objective was to create a more user-friendly, engaging, and professional website that would effectively communicate GHS Enterprise’s services, values, and mission.

GHS Enterprise is a consultancy dedicated to enhancing organizations through learning and culture shaping. The company’s core purpose is to strengthen client agility, sustainment, and profitability. They offer three primary solutions to help organizations navigate change successfully:

1. Reignite HR: The nature of work has changed, and people’s practices need to pivot to keep pace.
2. Learning Lane: Tailored learning journeys through workshops, facilitation, and learning designs.
3. Culture Shaping: Creating and sustaining preferred operating cultures aligned with clients’ competency frameworks.

GHS Enterprise’s mission is to ensure that every client is or becomes a great place to work, where employees contribute to critical business outcomes, fostering business success through enhanced organizational capability. This message was to be at the forefront of the company’s enhanced website.

ImmersiVerse Design takes a user-centered design approach to ensure the new website meets the needs of its users while effectively conveying GHS Enterprise’s mission and services. We take this approach to turn problems into creative solutions through a structured project development process, which includes:

• Define. Establish goals, conduct research, and identify deliverables to ensure we understand the client’s needs and objectives.
• Plan. Develop a timeline, assign roles, and allocate resources to ensure a smooth workflow.
• Design. Create concepts, develop visual elements, design intuitive navigation, and structure information to build a cohesive and appealing interface.
• Develop. Build the website using WordPress and custom HTML and CSS code, conduct user testing to ensure functionality, and make necessary adjustments based on feedback.
• Launch. Transfer the final product to the client, conduct final testing, and finalize all details to ensure a seamless and successful website launch.

By taking this structured approach, ImmersiVerse Design transforms challenges into creative solutions, ensuring that the GHS Enterprise website is not only visually appealing but also highly functional, user-friendly, and aligned with the company’s mission and values.

After one of the team members personally experienced workplace injury, we were motivated to work on automating the process of palletizing objects by using Computer Vision. Implementing this proof of concept in industry can reduce time wastage and help reduce the number of workplace injury incidents by eliminating the need to lift heavy boxes manually.

This project aims to use Camera and Computer Vision instead of colour to differentiate different types of boxes. The Arduino Nano handles the logical reasoning and decides the optimal placement of boxes to save space. The cost efficiency of our project helps cheaper installation and maintenance. We used the FANUC LR Mate 200iD Robot which is a very powerful and advanced robotic arm capable of performing complex industrial tasks with ease.

The primary goal of the website redesign project is to create a sustainable platform that reflects the values and objectives of ACT Canada. The redesigned website will focus on delivering essential services and resources to members, retaining membership, and preventing members from switching to competitors. Additionally, the website will enhance functionality by creating a user-friendly membership portal to streamline access for current and new members, rebuilding the website content through WordPress to ensure it is engaging, informative, and aligned with ACT Canada’s goals, implementing an efficient event management system to provide detailed information about events and promote community involvement, and offering a wide range of resources to download to support members and promote sustainable mobility initiatives, with the additional feature of allowing members to upload PDF resources to the website. These improvements will also feature enhanced sign-up processes aimed at increasing membership and providing comprehensive information about events to foster community involvement and support, thereby increasing engagement, attracting new members, and effectively promoting sustainable mobility initiatives. The redesign will also facilitate interactions with municipal and federal governments, ensuring the association can continue to secure funding and support for its programs.

We created a promotional video where people can discover Algonquin College’s innovative research centres, facilities, and industry collaborations. Aimed to be displayed on campus TV screens and at events, this project aims to spread awareness and highlight the department’s various research initiatives.

The Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres of Ottawa (CHRC) serves a vital role in supporting local communities, particularly the vulnerable and at-risk populations. Recognizing the limitations of their outdated, non-functional website, CHRC aimed to rebuild their online presence to better meet community needs. A major issue was the dysfunctional ‘Find your Centre’ map, crucial for helping residents locate their nearest resource center.

To address these challenges, the project followed a user-centered design approach, ensuring the new website is accessible, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. Key steps included:

1. Needs Assessment: Engaged community members and stakeholders to identify essential features, particularly a functional map.
2. Design: Crafted a modern, visually appealing website with a refreshed logo that retains the CHRC’s signature blue color, complemented by a secondary color, and removes the 25-year mark.
3. Development: Utilized WordPress to enable CHRC staff to easily update content. The site features three primary pages: two informational and one interactive map page.
4. Testing: Conducted thorough testing, focusing on the map’s functionality to ensure accuracy and ease of use.
5. Deployment: Launched the site with reliable hosting, integrating SEO best practices and social media features to enhance visibility and engagement.

The revamped website structure includes:

• Modern Design: User-friendly, mobile-responsive, and visually appealing interface.
• Functional Map: An easy-to-use, accurate map with color-coded catchment areas to help users quickly find their nearest center.
• CMS and Hosting: WordPress as a reliable hosting that allows CHRC staff to maintain and update the site efficiently.
• SEO and Social Media Integration: Improved search engine optimization and social media features to increase community outreach and engagement.

The CHRC website overhaul ensures that the community, especially those most in need, can easily access the vital services and resources provided by the CHRC network, fostering a more supportive and connected community in Ottawa.

Identifying duplicates in CRM systems is crucial to maintain data accuracy, streamline operations, and improve customer interactions by ensuring reliable information and efficient resource utilization. The scope of this project is to build a tool that helps notify business users when they have a duplicate entry for a client, they have done business with. The tool will check the CRM for current records holding the same fields.

Additionally, our tool provides a configuration setting to allow users to specify their detection criteria.

Ensuring optimal performance is crucial, so our tool is designed to process duplicate detection tasks for up to 10,000 records within 5 minutes and support at least 100 concurrent users without performance degradation. We prioritize usability, making the tool intuitive and user-friendly, matching current Zoho CRM standards, and providing context-sensitive help and tooltips. Security is paramount, with role-based access control and AES 256 encryption for all data. Additionally, our tool is compatible with the latest Zoho CRM version and functions correctly on major web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

IMDazzle aims to promote our graduates by providing a platform that highlights their skills and achievements. We believe that our students are the future of digital media, and this website is a testament to their potential. By featuring their work, we hope to connect them with opportunities that will allow them to thrive in their chosen fields.