Renewing an iconic harbour experience
UX/UI Design | TfNSW | 2021
Nestled between the Opera House and Harbour Bridge lies Circular Quay ferry wharves, home to some of the busiest public ferry routes in Sydney. The one route that stands out for locals and tourists alike is the Circular Quay to Manly ferry route. This route is arguably the most iconic and important asset to Sydney’s public transport infrastructure.
The Freshwater Ferry and Manly Fast Ferry are currently the only two service options that customers can choose from. A new Emerald Class fast ferry fleet is being introduced to the existing ferry services from Circular Quay to Manly.
Problem
We need to help customers identify and understand the new ferry product and travel times by providing updated digital timetables at the entrance of each wharf.
What is the current customer travel frequency between Circular Quay to Manly?
Every year, approximately 425,000 passengers use the ferry services to Manly per month in the peak summer period.
This data confirms that the Circular Quay to Manly ferry route is one of the highest used ferry services on Sydney Harbour.
User journeys
Two key user groups assessed were First Time users and Local users. Let’s take a look at their visual journey at each location.
Observations
What were the pain points across various products, and the by-products of these issues?
Design ideation
Based on the on-site observation outcomes, the initial idea was to update the large timetable display content. In particular, replacing the generic Sydney Ferries Network map with more specific ferry departure information at the entrance of each wharf.
Alignment to brand guidelines
During the design process, it was important to consider design consistency with the graphic language and visual guidelines by Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW).
Key components from these guidelines influenced the preliminary mock-up to be used for A/B testing on site.
Freshwater Ferry pictograms
The Freshwater Ferry is an iconic vessel on Sydney Harbour. This was a great opportunity to turn the ferry into a recognisable pictogram for users to clearly identify the different service routes to Manly.
Prototype validation and survey results
Following a design review with key stakeholders, the revised design options for the large timetable display were taken forward for a testing and surveying session at the wharves.
The surveying session was undertaken at 3–5pm on a regular weekday, to capture both off-peak and peak-period users at the wharves.
A total of 15 customers ranging from irregular to regular ferry commuters were surveyed.
Qualitative and quantitative data was collected from the surveying session.
Lessons learnt
From the results, Design Option 2 was more successful in identifying the new changes to the ferry services.
One of the most challenging tasks in this particular design process was convincing key stakeholders to update their design system. Hence the on-site user survey and testing was incredibly essential to outline where the real user pain points are, and to validate necessary design changes to a complex design system.
A successful product should always consider and question product usability through the lens of the common everyday user.