UX Research / Interaction Design
Turning accessibility research into a more independent ferry experience.
Examining accessibility across the NYC Ferry journey, then redesigning one of its most critical touchpoints.
NYC Ferry Accessibilty Study
NYC Ferry Accessibility began as a research study conducted at 3x3 Design for NYCEDC to understand how riders with disabilities experience the ferry system. Through service safaris, interviews, observation, and survey research, we identified barriers across wayfinding, ticketing, boarding, onboard communication, and physical infrastructure.
I later returned to the research during graduate school to explore one of its clearest opportunities: the ticketing kiosk. Using the original rider findings alongside accessibility standards and interface audits, I redesigned the kiosk experience to support clearer navigation, multimodal interaction, and greater rider independence.
Role
Design Researcher + Interaction Designer
Organization
3x3 Design × NYCEDC
Timeline
2023 Research Study 2025 Kiosk Redesign
Methods
Service Safaris
Accessibility Auditing
UX Research
Collaborators
3x3 Design Research Team
Lucas Vacquiero, Project Manager
My Contribution
Accessibility Research
Interaction Design
Interface Prototyping
01 / THE SYSTEM
Accessibility breaks down long before someone boards the ferry.
NYC Ferry can offer a comfortable alternative to other forms of public transit, but accessing that experience is not equally straightforward for everyone.
THE QUESTION
How might NYC Ferry support riders with disabilities in navigating the system with greater independence, clarity, and dignity?
02 / WHAT RIDERS TAUGHT US
The biggest barrier was not always mobility. It was uncertainty.
We combined service safaris with a rider survey to understand both first-time and more experienced perspectives. Researchers accompanied 10 riders with ambulatory, visual, and hearing disabilities through real ferry journeys, while a digital survey gathered responses from 67 riders enrolled in the NYC Ferry disability discount program.
Across the research, a recurring pattern emerged: riders often had to compensate for missing information, unclear wayfinding, inconsistent announcements, inaccessible ticketing, and uncertainty about when or where assistance would be available.
Service Safari Recruiment
Service Safari Snapshots
Ferry Rider Journey Map
03 / ONE CRITICAL TOUCHPOINT
The ticketing kiosk was designed for self-service, but often created dependence.
Riders described difficulty locating the machines, reading the displays, understanding the interface, reaching physical controls, accessing reduced fares, and using non-visual guidance.
That tension stayed with me.
Rider with visual impairment using phone to magnify and view kiosk screen
04 / RETURNING TO THE PROBLEM
Years later, I returned to the kiosk as an interaction design problem.
Rather than treating the kiosk as a new speculative project, I used the earlier findings alongside accessibility standards, interface audits, and public-space kiosk guidelines to ask a more specific question: what would a self-service interaction look like if independence were treated as a core requirement rather than an accommodation?
05 / THE REDESIGN
I redesigned the kiosk around clarity, continuity, and multimodal access.
I expanded the flow into a clearer sequence with consistent navigation, larger controls, visible progress, reduced-fare access, explicit review states, payment guidance, and immediate access to language, audio, and help.
The redesigned interface also explored ways riders could continue on mobile, receive clearer feedback, and understand where they were within the transaction at every step.
06 / FROM RESEARCH TO INTERACTION
Accessibility should shape the interaction model, not sit on top of it.
Explore the interactive prototype ↗
07 / REFLECTION
Accessibility became a way of thinking about the whole interaction.
This project connects two stages of my practice.
At 3x3, I learned to study accessibility as a systems problem shaped by infrastructure, information, staff behavior, service operations, and lived experience. Returning to the project in graduate school pushed me to translate those findings into a more concrete interaction design response.
Together, the work changed how I think about accessibility: not as a checklist added at the end, but as a design lens that can reshape the flow, interface, hardware, and surrounding service.