AccessiPal

Crowd-sourced campus accessibility with integrated facility reporting for real-time issue tracking and inclusive maintenance.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Industry

Education & Accessibility

Timeline

8 hours

How might students at UW efficiently report on campus accessibility and facility issues so that they are resolved promptly and effectively?

The Problem

Many individuals with disabilities experience physical barriers on the UW Seattle campus. 15.8% of students have experienced barriers in classroom buildings. Campus facilities are often inaccessible, resulting in an unwelcoming environment. Accessibility issues are often caused by construction, inclement weather, or an elevator breaking or automatic door breaking down.

Our Solution

A mobile app for students to report accessibility issues as they encounter them on campus. These reports are sent to UW facility maintenance as work tickets so issues can be resolved promptly. This will help give students, especially those with disabilities, a voice in keeping their campus accessible to all.

The Problem

Our Solution

Meet

AccessiPal

Real Time Accessibility Tracking

Effortlessly identify broken facilities that may pose accessibility challenges, allowing users to quickly reroute and navigate campus with confidence. Reporting issues directly to maintenance is seamless. Real-time updates keep users informed as problems are addressed and resolved.

Community Engagement

Foster a sense of community responsibility by empowering users to contribute to campus accessibility. Earn badges like Good Samaritan, Camera Guy, and Pioneer to celebrate your efforts, and view your achievements on your profile, including points earned, problems reported, and issues resolved.

Incentives

Keep motivation high with Accessipal’s rewarding point system, designed to encourage consistent reporting and engagement. Earn points by leaving reviews, adding photos, and updating existing reports. Accumulate points to unlock exciting rewards, from gift cards at on-campus dining spots to unique accessories for your avatar.

Customize Your Avatar

Express yourself by customizing your avatar with adorable animal characters and stylish accessories. Mix and match items to create a unique look that reflects your personality and accomplishments within the Accessipal community.

View Prototype

Researching the Problem

I created AccessiPal in a team of 4 for the annual Women in Informatics Hackathon. We had 8 hours to create a prototype for the theme "Breaking Grounds, Discovering Solutions".

Research

We conducted a literature review to explore the experiences of individuals with disabilities at the University of Washington. The most insightful source I found was the UW Seattle 2020 Assessment of Climate for Learning, Living, and Working.

“Why is the path at the Vista by the fountain still gravel? It is the only place on campus that is gravel. Every day, twice a day to and from light rail, I experience that path as a sign that I don’t belong on this campus.“
- One respondent shared

Competitor Analysis

We conducted a competitor analysis of existing navigation and facility reporting tools to identify gaps in accessibility and user experience. I found that current tools to search for facility and route accessibility are limited.

Competitor	Cons
	Google Maps Limited accessibility details. No real-time updates. Maintenance is disconnected from user complaints.
	WheelMap.org Only for wheelchair users. No user update incentives. Hard to search locations. “It does rely only on people updating places they visited. Unfortunately, not many people have updated places in my town.” – One user shared in a review

Current tools provided by the university to report facility issues are complicated and lack real time updates.

User Personas

Through in-depth research into the user space and competitor analysis, I developed user personas that represent AccessiPal’s target audience.

Persona	Goals & Pain Points
Alex, a 19-year-old wheelchair user college student at UW studying business.	Goals: Alex wants to easily find accessible routes on campus to get to class independently. Pain Points: Outdated accessibility info. Frequent physical barriers
Jesse, a 40-year-old facilities coordinator at UW.	Goals: Jesse wants to ensure campus facilities meet accessibility standards. Pain Points: Limited real time updates. Delays in fixing issues related to accessibility

Persona

Goals & Pain Points

Alex, a 19-year-old wheelchair user college student at UW studying business.

Goals: Alex wants to easily find accessible routes on campus to get to class independently.

Pain Points: Outdated accessibility info. Frequent physical barriers

Jesse, a 40-year-old facilities coordinator at UW.

Goals: Jesse wants to ensure campus facilities meet accessibility standards.
Pain Points: Limited real time updates. Delays in fixing issues related to accessibility

Turning Ideas Into Designs

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

We began by creating low-fidelity wireframes in Figma to establish the overall design and key features of the interface. Once the structure was in place, I transitioned to high-fidelity wireframes, where I focused on building interactive elements such as swipe gestures and pop-up modals. My teammates designed custom character assets and map background using Procreate.

Iteration

Industry mentors went around to teams to ask questions and give feedback. I learned the importance of asking specific, actionable questions to get the most out of limited guidance. This helped us make better use of mentor expertise and refine our ideas efficiently. Completing a functional prototype in just 8 hours required rapid decision-making and efficient use of resources. Balancing ideation, wireframing, and prototyping while maintaining quality was tough, but it honed my ability to prioritize tasks and make impactful design choices.