CicLAvia's Interactive Map and Local Guide

Project Description

In this team project, we focused on CicLAvia’s digital spaces to promote city exploration at their events. We redesigned their current interactive map to be more discoverable, usable, and informative. Our solutions include better mapping software, an updated list of local businesses, and a cleaner UI with filter features. These recommendations give CicLAvia goers tools to better explore their city.

Problem

CicLAvia is a non-profit whose mission is to get people out of their cars and onto the street to explore their community. They needed our help changing the perception from a “just cyclists” event, to one for all forms of non-motorized transportation, from foot to wheels and anything in between. CicLAvia aims to celebrate city exploration, but there is a major lack of awareness around their interactive map that supports the local businesses along the routes. How might we help eventgoers easily access route guides and information in digital spaces that will promote city exploration?

Insights

We learned that the community loves CicLAvia, this was evident in our online ethnographic research as well as in the interviews and surveys we collected at the events. What they don’t love is how lost they feel during the events. The majority of participants we spoke to were searching for something– Water stations, bathrooms, bike repairs, places to see, or even information about the hubs along the route. There is a lack of awareness that an interactive map exists that could help event participants navigate the route. Out of 43 people we surveyed, 77% have never seen the interactive map. Yet, 90% said they would want to use something like this. Not only is the map not promoted by CicLAvia and difficult to find on their website, but it is also hard to use on mobile devices. The map is cut off and users can’t filter on it. Making the map mobile-friendly is extremely important because that’s how participants will be using it during the event.

Solutions

CicLAvia’s redesigned interactive map uses Proxi, a cleaner, and more usable mapping software. Users can easily filter by food and drink, shops, points of interest, restrooms, hubs, and more. Map points have quick descriptions and important information like hours and directions. Along with the map, we created a list of businesses on the route. Users can easily scroll through the list and filter places by which hub they are located in to quickly find things around them. To ensure that participants could access our solution, we traveled the route wearing signs with a QR code that directs users to our interactive map and local guide.