Accessibility by Design

On-site UX research and product design for Jones Beach Theater that my team and I pitched to LiveNation and NYS Parks.

UX RESEARCH ASSISTANT & DESIGN INTERNSHIP

ROLE:

UX Research Assistant · UI/UX Designer · Presenter

CLIENT:

Jones Beach Theater · LiveNation · Northwell Health · NYS Parks

CONTEXT:

UX Research & Design Internship

TEAM:

Farmingdale State College & Edinburgh Napier University Students

TOOLS:

Figma · Illustrator · InDesign · FusionCAD · 3D Printing

YEAR:

2024

Overview:

Selected for a competitive Research Assistant Internship at Farmingdale State College, I joined a cross-institutional team of 17 students (12 from Farmingdale and 5 from Edinburgh Napier University) for an on-site UX research engagement at Jones Beach Theater.

The team was tasked with identifying real operational problems across three areas of the venue: accessibility, security, and parking. With the goal to design practical solutions. I was assigned to accessibility.

THE PROBLEM:

Through direct on-site observation and by shadowing the venue's accessibility staff, the team identified three core pain points visitors with accessibility needs face at Jones Beach Theater:

01) Wayfinding

Visitors struggled to navigate the venue and locate accessibility services independently, without external help.

02) Service Visibility

Accessibility resources weren't clearly communicated before or during events, leaving visitors unaware of what was available.

03) Staff Communication

No reliable real-time channel existed for visitors to connect with accessibility staff once inside the venue during a show.

THE Solution:

A two-part communication system designed to close the gap between visitors and staff. One digital, one physical:

NFC LANYARD TAG:

Staff lanyards redesigned to include scannable NFC tags. A visitor taps any staff member's lanyard to access a scheduling interface where they can book an accessibility appointment; to get directions or stay connected with a specific staff member throughout the event. No app download required.

BUZZER/RECEIVER:

A physical buzzer and receiver device (rendered and drafted in FusionCAD) giving visitors a direct, discreet way to signal staff and receive confirmation of a response during a show. Designed for situations where phone interaction isn't practical.

Rendering & Technical Drawings by Kai Menzies

USER JOURNEY:

Storyboard developed to communicate the end-to-end visitor experience to stakeholders from arrival through in-show communication:

OUTCOME:

The solution was presented in a live pitch to senior decision-makers from LiveNation, Northwell Health, and the Long Island region of NYS Parks which covered research findings, design rationale, hardware concept, and the Figma prototype, making the case for a system that could be implemented at scale across major live event venues.

Key Takeaways:

Research over assumption

Being on-site and shadowing the accessibility team surfaced insights no brief could have provided.

Accessibility means clarity first

Every extra step in the user flow was a barrier worth removing; design decisions were held to that standard.

Cross-cultural collaboration

Working across US and UK teams required intentional communication and produced stronger outcomes because of it.

Defensible design

Pitching to LiveNation and NYS Parks meant every decision from research methodology to UI choices had to hold up under scrutiny.