10,000-floor elevator design ideas
For the 2nd week of my Online UX-UI course, I have been given the assignment to come up with 10 designs for a 10,000-floor building elevator’s control interface. The amount of time to reach from the ground to the top floor is 30 mins.
The sole purpose of this exercise is to get the student into the habit of designing low-fidelity prototypes as quickly as possible. This is not part of User or Usability testing.
At the start of the project, I felt clueless, didn’t know anything about elevators or regarding their design process so I sat down and tried to find articles related to the same. Following are the key insights I gained through the researches I read-
i) Only certain people can access certain floors ( Security code, passwords, fingerprint, etc)- reduced travel time
ii) Display of estimated time to reach the desired floor- usage of visibility of system status heuristic
iii) Speaker attached in the control interface for emergency calls.
iv) Display of weight capacity, an alarm goes off if the weight exceeds.
v) Option of removing the instruction if wrong floor number is pressed- adds to the Error prevention heuristic.
vi) The basic Lights and fan On/Off option present in elevators.
vii) Quick Access floors. In a building so big it is assumed that tourists, corporate employees, and families are present and so it would be very convenient for them if direct access option is present for them such as Playground, Google office floor, etc.
viii) Braille option is present for visually impaired population and an app version of the control interface is present for handicapped personnel.
ix) “GO” button to be added to make sure that the user is sure about their choice, helps in preventing error.
x) The Open (Hold) button of the elevator should be bigger than the Close button so that it takes less time to locate it.
Following are some designs I have come up with to make this 30 mins journey pleasant for the users. For these designs, it's assumed that the building consists of tourists, residential families, and corporate offices. These are low fidelity prototypes so please Shakal pe nhi, bhavnao pe jao.
- Charging slots
30 mins is a long time, so having charging slots in the control interface makes it more noticeable and allows numerous people to use it simultaneously.
2. Wi-Fi
Having wifi to connect to while making a 30-minute journey in an escalating box will help users diverting themselves through music/series/social media. It can also be a great way to attract more tourists as the majority of people would be allowed to showcase their journey Live.
3) Call Button
A direct call button to the receptionist in case of any mechanical failures or medical emergency could be highly useful as that would add a human factor, a human being to assure them that help is on the way and updating them throughout the progress.
4) Game Button
Tourists and families often comprise of children and teenagers, they often feel uncomfortable, cry in such closed spaces so to have a game option with just one button can be something everyone can understand and enjoy.
5) QR Code
With a lift capacity of 50 people, it might be a little chaotic for everyone waiting for their turn to press the buttons for the desired floor. So, introducing an option of a QR code, through which they can access the control interface on their phones might be a very convenient option.
6) Audio- On/Off
To hear the elevator announcement after reaching every floor may turn uncomfortable after a while, A simple Audio On-Off button may help with a more pleasent journey.
7) Translation Option
People from all over the world would visit a 10,000-floor building, and so it would be wrong to assume that everyone who would visit the building (tourist or otherwise) knows English. Having a translation option would be very convenient for them.
8) Warehouse Access Code
Taking the business into consideration, having an access code for employees who have to move large quantities of goods to the desired floor, might result in coherent workflow and also help reduce hassle with tourists/families etc.
9) Guided Meditation
To be in a metal box for 30 mins which is going up might be a little unnerving. The option of an audio/video meditation would help make the people feel more at peace and relax them.
10. Having different color schemes for various people riding the elevator would help people better recall their floors and the change in colors shows them there’s something wrong. The colors have been chosen deliberately, 1st is for the Corporate population with colors with shades of blue representing serenity, stability, inspiration, and wisdom. The 2nd is for Families with colors like pink, sky blue, light green representing security, stability, tranquility, love, and kindness. Lastly, the 3rd image is for Tourists which has colors like yellow, green, and blue representing happiness, optimism, security, and serenity.
This was an assignment and any feedback would be appreciated.
