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Overview
In 2018, the Empire State Building underwent a complete revitalization of their visitor experience, transforming and modernizing everything from how someone enters the building to their arrival on observation decks. I had a hand in designing a number of experiences including the ticketing kiosk and digital postcard.
Empire State Building Digital Experiences
Role & Employer
Lead designer for Intersection (an Alphabet company) handling stakeholder meetings, to research, to ideation, to wireframing, through to visual design and code implementation.
Ticketing Kiosk Challenge
Ticketing is one of the first, most interactive, and most taxing experiences a visitor faces at the Empire State Building. It sets the mood and trajectory for a visitor in the building: it provides the information they need before entering, charges them to participate, and gives them one or various tickets to access the building, all while a line of people wait behind them to do the same. From a business perspective, the kiosk had to be a one-stop shop for visitors in order to increase throughput.
A trip to the Empire State Building can be a lifelong dream for some visitors so it was our goal to make it start off right. This project involved a delicate balance of designing an intuitive and seamless digital screen flow in coordination with physical kiosk interactions in a busy space. Designing the experience correctly, a visitor would maintain their excitement and be completely ready for their visit within minutes.
Ticketing Kiosk Solution
The project would become 20+ self-service kiosks, each with a 42” portrait touchscreen monitor, that provided printing, scanning, and payment functionality for the thousands of visitors that pass through the building every day. We completely overhauled the ticketing experience by providing any visitor with the ability to select their language, access screens if they are in a wheelchair, gather information, purchase tickets, pick up orders, upgrade tickets, and purchase gifts quickly and efficiently.
Digital Postcard Challenge
The path to the top of the Empire State Building leads visitors up elevators and through various floors before encountering a panoramic view of New York City. Along the way, there is an opportunity to entertain and educate visitors to ensure that their entire experience is unforgettable. We aimed to create an experience that was as classic as the Empire State Building and gave visitors a memento to keep and share with others. The challenge was to enhance a visitor’s experience and provide a business opportunity for a purchase upgrade without creating heavy delays to the top of the building.
Digital Postcard Solution
The Digital Postcard was designed to create a nostalgic keepsake that memorialized a visitor’s experience at the Empire State Building. It modernizes the classic experience of getting a postcard from the gift shop, writing a note, and putting it in the mail to family or friends.
A digital kiosk guides visitors through selecting a postcard template, customizing it with digital stickers and drawings, writing a note, filling out an address, and printing it to be automatically sent out physically or emailed for sharing on social media. By using iconic designs on a classic medium with modern technology, the Digital Postcard maintains a sense of nostalgia in a contemporary setting while entertaining and delighting visitors.
Modernizing a Classic
By creating intuitive and entertaining digital experiences that integrate seamlessly into a classic tourist attraction, the redesign of the Empire State Building is able to fulfill visitors' dreams and achieve business goals.
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