POINT OF ACCESS: A user's perspective on mass transit entrance system design

The less glamorous aspects of a transportation system'­s infrastructure, such as signage, ticketing systems, and wayfinding elements, typically get little or no attention from creative professionals. Instead they are purchased directly from manufacturers as minimally customized off-the-shelf components. Paradoxically, these parts that go unconsidered and undesigned are what transit riders most directly interact with, and what most affects their experience of the transit system/product. This thesis focuses specifically on the Washington DC Metro Area Transportation Authority's (WMATA) Metrorail, aiming to reshape the entrance segment of this public transportation experience by increasing both appeal and accessibility. The design process began with primary and secondary design research, using observational and interactive methods to produce an informed picture of Metrorail users'­ current perspectives. A design strategy was then developed from the collective research findings, which led to a period of blue-sky ideation and finally the design of elegant and accessible mass transit entrance system components.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Industrial Design

Department dc:contributor.department

Industrial Design

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Shirey, Elizabeth Levenick

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Dorsa, Edward A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Green, William R.
• Dunay, Robert J.

• design research
• universal design
• public transportation
• user experience

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-08072003-153515

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/10057