VTA Kiosk
VTA Cares - A service designed for society
Team members - Emily Chen, Gabriel COntreras, Tyler Bickel
Most homeless people are being misunderstood. Not all homeless people are drug and/or alcohol addicts. The misinterpretation creates an invisible barrier which deters general public from aiding them. Homeless people want others to recognize and treat them as equal.
My team and I decided to brand our project for San Jose's transportation system (VTA). We created a kiosk to benefit both the general public and homeless community. With this kiosk, we aim to educate the general public on local homeless people's background and provide a way for the general public help out their local homeless community.
Design Research
Tackling the issue head on
Initially, our group was weary about interviewing homeless people. Thoughts like "What if we get attacked?" and "Will they be willing to talk to us?" After our initial contact with our local homeless people, we discovered we've been misunderstanding them from the start. Yes, there are some were drug and alcohol addicts but a lot of them were trying to get back on their feet. There's an underground community of people who help each other out from sharing food to helping each other find shelter. We encountered a local employee who came out on their lunch break to pass out food to the homeless. After our interviews, we had a better understanding of the situation. We began brainstorming ideas, trying to figure out how to provide a medium that connects the general public with the homeless.
VTA Cares
With VTA's new direction in branding, they are trying to improve their relationship with the community. We pitched our kiosk to them as "VTA Cares" to add on to their brand of helping the community.
Q: How does it work?
A: VTA will be partnering with non-profits to donate free rides to individuals who are homeless and are trying to get back on their feet.
Q: Where will the money come from?
A: Have you ever ridden on a public transportation system and found yourself with extra few cents left in your ticket? I have, and I've found many tickets on the ground with less than a dollar left on them. Rather than throwing away those few cents, you can deposit the extra fare to VTA Cares' kiosk and the money will go to people who need the ticket to go to work. If you're feeling generous, there's also the option of donating "x" amount to the system.
Ideation / Concepts
Design
My team and I were inspired by VTA's new logo and used it as inspiration for the shape and design of the VTA Cares Kiosk.
Ergonomics
My team and I researched the ideal height the kiosk interface should be. The reason why this is important because we want people to be comfortable while using the VTA Cares Kiosk. We took the information and made mockups to figure out what works and what doesn't.
