Interactive User Experience on The High Line

Design in Public Spaces with Jill Nussbaum

Students were asked to create a networked, mobile or interactive installation that enhances or extends the experience of the High Line park in NYC. Each group presented a concept document that included research documentation and an experience journey of the concept to a guest panel which included a representative of Friends of the High Line.

• Michael Katayama, Katie Koch, Russ Maschmeyer : Field Trip

  Field Trip teaches High Line explorers about urban ecology at all levels. It enhances a visitor’s experience on the High Line by providing contextually relevant information about ecology and sustainability.

  Field Trip uses six levels to describe the relationship between an object and its environment: microscopic, soil, plants, people, architecture and atmosphere. These levels are a simplified lens through which visitors can explore and begin to understand the complex urban ecosystem in which the High Line lives. A visitor will uncover tokens by interacting with specially tagged objects, revealing valuable sustainability tips and fun facts.

  After using the app at the High Line our visitor walks away with a better understanding of the park and how she can lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

• Colleen Miller, Jeff Kirsch, Evinn Quinn : Story View: An Augmented Reality City Viewer

  Borrowing a nostalgic and easily recognizable form, Story View updates the idea of a traditional coin operated binocular viewer to provide visitors access to short spoken-word stories and historical facts about the High Line and the surrounding city as they look through the viewfinder. As a visitor pans and tilts the viewer, they are able to listen to snippets of audio (either programmed by the High Line or left by other visitors) about the places and things the viewer is pointed at. By aiming the viewer at a location and holding down the record button, the visitor is also able to leave a story tied to that place for others to discover.

• Eric St. Onge, Derek Chan, Carmen Dukes, Kristin Graefe : Storylines

  Storylines is an audio tour system built for small groups, allowing visitors to learn more about the High Line while engaged with the environment. The system uses wireless beacons placed throughout the park to transmit stories to a custom designed headset worn by visitors. As visitors walk through the park, the stories describe the history of the High Line, its ecology, and the surrounding neighborhoods.

• John Finley, Angela Huang, Chia-wei Liu, Gene Lu : The Bright Points Project

  During a series of Thursdays in Summer 2010, the High Line will host the Bright Points Project, a NYC Parks Department Summer Program.

  The High Line’s Bright Points Project gives people a new way to experience sunsets in New York City.

  Electronic lanterns given to attendees illuminate in response to the time of day and to others nearby, creating a glowing stream of people walking north along the High Line’s path.