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Serene

A speculative AR app from in-depth ethnography research on urban design for Toyota Woven City

Timeline

4 months (Feb – May 2025)

Role

Solo Product Designer

Outcome

Detail research report, hi-fi prototypes delivered to the Woven City team at Toyota

Overview

ethnography research

Design iterations

Final designs

Overview

About Toyota Woven City

Woven City is a project currently being built by Toyota at Mt. Fuji, aiming to create a mobility-friendly community. I joined as a co-creator to contribute to the on-going research for urban pedestrians.

A quick look at the Woven City project website

why pedestrians with auditory sensitivity?

A silent struggle in a chaotic city

A silent struggle

To live in a big city like New York is to live in an invisible yet visible soundscape. While noise sensitivity is a public health issue, it is not often discussed as one of the main public concerns.

click to play sound

These factors can lead to sensory overload, disorientation, or even anxiety, affecting their ability to make safe decisions on the streets and making everyday travel stressful or unsafe. This is a more common issue than perceived.

Examples of DAWs, from top to bottom: Logic Pro – Ableton – Pro Tools

initial problem discovery

How might I help reduce anxiety and ensure safety for pedestrians with auditory sensitivity navigating an urban setting like NYC?

How might I help reduce anxiety and ensure safety for pedestrians with auditory sensitivity navigating an urban setting like NYC?

solution highlights

ethnography research

Getting to know my audience in real life

Approaching this large problem, I wanted to find a specific angle and common issues that pedestrians with auditory sensitivity.

research methods

Observational study

2 locations // 1 hour each

Loud noise from a construction site on Canal St caused people to jolt and a halt for all pedestrian traffic.

in-depth interviews

5 individuals

“Even if I run late, I’d still make sure to bring my headphones.”

secondary research

6 articles

5.9% of US adults had sensitivity to everyday sounds.

diary studies

5 individuals // 5 days

“If I hear someone trying to get my attention, it distracts me”

Observational study

2 locations // 1 hour each

Loud noise from a construction site on Canal St caused people to jolt and a halt for all pedestrian traffic.

in-depth interviews

5 individuals

“Even if I run late, I’d still make sure to bring my headphones.”

secondary research

6 articles

5.9% of US adults had sensitivity to everyday sounds.

diary studies

5 individuals // 5 days

“If I hear someone trying to get my attention, it distracts me”

research methods

Portrait of typical New Yorkers that are sensitive to noise:
They are daily headphones and earbuds users.

Current solutions for pedestrians with auditory sensitivity are limited, with noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds being the only method for mitigating urban noise exposure.

Physical and mental reactions from spiky noises that cannot be blocked out.

Even though pedestrians rely mostly on noise-cancelling headphones, they still experience physical and emotional discomfort from abnormally loud or spiky noises that headphones cannot block out.

They get anxious and lose focus without headphones.

In situations that pedestrians have to take off headphones (e.g. commuting with friends), they lose control of their focus, getting distracted and anxious from the surrounding urban noises.

How might I help pedestrians with auditory sensitivity feel less

anxious and distracted by helping them anticipate the sounds?

How might I help pedestrians with auditory sensitivity feel less

anxious and distracted by helping them anticipate the sounds?

iterations

Decibels information on dynamic island

Even though my final version has more information, testers still want the full context to skim through instead of decibels information being abstracted.

Rely purely on color, Failed Accessibility

Display both color and decibel details

Prioritize location in header area

After 2 rounds of testing, I reduced the logo to make space for both the location and the AR view, as user was getting distracted by its glass treatment.

Left-aligned, unfocused

Centered, logo is still taking focus

Only display location for quick reference

Final designs

Gentle onboarding with introduction to the concepts of soundscape and constant haptics

Scoping the soundscape with proper location permission

AR mode to live review the sounds with context