Public Interfaces

Train Tracks is a generative audio and light display for the MTA. It translates train speed into an ambient light and audio show that can be customized by line, station, time of day, or other relevant parameters. The goal of Train Tracks is to create a more beautiful, whimsical commuting experience for the millions of MTA riders who ride the subway each day, while simultaneously reinforcing the shared identity of specific train lines, stations, or entire neighborhoods.

Presentation can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8a59p8c9m028vep/AACVDESERtmoLG_wfUsqnUYBa?dl=0

The New York City subway system is always an adventure, and that’s mainly because you never know who or what you will encounter on your ride. However, those encounters haven’t always lead to any positive feelings. In my opinion how you act on the subway is a reflection of the type of person you are, and I have seen way too many reflections of just how disgusting and annoying people truly can be. So since I can’t force people to adopt more considerate values, I can create a way for those of us that practice positive subway etiquette to not have to see it.

Dropbox Link

Coffee, Juice, or Kale-Ginger Detox Smoothie. We are getting our drinks to go because we are so busy here in the city.

We get our drink. Walk to the subway. Wait for the train to come for 5 to 10 minutes, if not more. By that time your drink has settled and isn’t the way you had it originally. And that’s why I’m introducing the Subway Stirrer.

See the presentation here.

It can be a conversation piece between your fellow subway traveler, but more importantly it stirs your drink properly giving you a satisfying drink and a great subway experience.

For physical computing last year, I worked on a project that aimed to make light therapy easier and more accessible for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

When I first thought about how to bring this concept to the public transportation space, I wondered if lighting design could help the community-at-large get better sleep. Inspired by the simplicity of the flux desktop app that transforms your screen lighting into orange hues at night, I thought this model could apply to subway lighting as well.

Curious about how an environmental change like this might impact the well-being of a lot of people at once, I went a step further and asked what other ways the design of public transit could help shape public health. I used stress as a lens for 3 design intervention concepts.

[  Project Website  ]

I experimented with presenting my ideas in a very quick and simple narrative website. To see the website, first download the folder, then double-click on the “stress-and-the-subway.html” file to open it in your browser.

– Melody

For physical computing I created a product that allowed you to feel what the weather was like all over the world inside a box. I reimagined this project and how people could interact with it while riding the subway.

Project can be viewed here