OREGON CAPITOL WELCOME CENTER
Role - Sr. UX Designer
Visual & Environmental Design, Project management, UI/UX, Graphic Design, Content & Research, Print & Production, Signage, Video, Presentations, Proposals & Submittals
Overview
The Oregon State Capitol approached us to design their first-ever Welcome Center. Encouraging their 200,000 annual visitors to explore the grounds, and discover events, historical sites, and institutions throughout the beautiful state of Oregon.
Key Deliverables:
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Art direction, visual design, and physical production of the space.
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Welcome mural design and producton.
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An extra large touchscreen map of Oregon with over 150 historical points of interest.
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An interactive map of the State Capitol grounds and points of interest.
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An interactive educating visitors on the cultures and histories of the state's Native Tribes and Bands.
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An interactive exploring the diversity of cultures who now call Oregon home.
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A custom CMS and new design process for content, images, approval, and updates.
Environmental Design
We had to take many factors in consideration when designing the Welcome Center. Traffic and flow, diversity and inclusivity, sensitivity to the inclusion (and sometimes absence) of Tribal representation, age demographics, accessibility, existing styles and branding as well as the desired final vision.
The Capitol wanted something eye-catching yet refined, with a balance of color and narrative that would suck visitors in but ultimately inspire them to go out and explore.
Key Responsibilities:
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Rapidly iterating simple room designs around the established interactive parameters for an enticing and cohesive visitor experience.
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Presenting concepts to building director and other major stakeholders.
UX/UI design
After a brief discovery phase with the stakeholders to determine the purpose of the interactives as well as the hardware to be used, I partnered closely with the dev team to define the limitations and scope of the content to be included.
With this in mind I produced detailed wireframes for each, with user flows, functionality, a content strategy and accessibility considerations.
Key Responsibilities:
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Determine exactly what content is available and come up with a strategy for each interactive.
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Partner with the development team to formulate scope, understand capabilities and limitations.
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Design detailed wireframes mapping out all user flows and interactions for all three stations.
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Consider physical accessibility standards of practice for interactivity, physical and digital.
Branding and Identity
The Oregon State Capitol already had an existing identity system they wanted me to consider when designing the room and interactives. I expanded the values of their existing colors to add contrast and depth to comply with accessibility standards and design past practices.
Presentations and Submittals
I designed and presented all submittal documents that were periodically printed and sent off to the stakeholders for review and approval. We had a total of 5 phases and over 30 official documents delivered concerning all aspects of the project.
Print and Fabrication
I was in charge of creating and delivering all physical specs and print-ready design files to our printers. These included small vinyl decal signage, transparent glass wall treatments, and full-wall mural graphics.
I made many visits to the printers for proof checks and approvals and oversaw the installation personally.
Project Management & Video production
I was in charge of a small team sourcing, retouching and tracking many of the 275+ images used throughout the digital experiences. I managed traveling photographers, 3D artists and videographers as well as jr. designers.
Using our custom CMS and in collaboration with historians I managed the approval, changes, updates, sources, and licencing of all the images throughout the stages of the project.
I also spearheaded the storyboarding, planning, shooting, editing and producing of various promotional viseos.