LEVEL UP aims to help office workers have a more enjoyable and relaxing experience while traveling inside and outside the elevator through the design of a mobile application and the design of the elevator interior. Users can enjoy relaxing games and immersed spatial experiences on elevator screens. The app combines functions of checking elevator status, gaming, and redeeming coupons after awards from the game.
LEVEL UP
Smart Emotional Elevator
LEVEL UP
a smart emotional elevator experience that turns waiting and riding into an enjoyable, restorative part of the workday
concept
statement
statement
Background
Nowadays, along with the rise of skyscrapers in cities, elevators start to take a relatively important role in our everyday building travels, especially in high-rise residential and office buildings. Often, they are surrounded by these feelings, both inside and outside the elevator:
tiring
Crowded
Time-wasting
Exhausted
boring
Anxious
Research
Average Waiting Time by Hour
Minutes spent waiting per peak period
Commuting to work in the morning takes the most waiting time because everyone in the building is traveling and walking upstairs is more tiring than walking down.
On the Break of Collapse
Are users driven crazy by the elevator?
95%
Yes
Yes — 95%
No — 5%
Most people feel bored during waiting because they have to pay attention to the elevator. While people with other stuff to do may miss the elevator due to the lack of attention.
Activities During Waiting
What do users do while waiting?
95% of the population responds that they are driven crazy by the elevator — no matter the long waiting time or the unsatisfied user experience during the travel.
Interview
I focused on office workers as the target group because their elevator use is the most purposeful and urgent — they have a time limit, a destination floor usually high in the building, and no real alternative. I interviewed workers across multiple high-rise buildings to capture a range of experiences.
"Every day, I have to arrive 15 minutes early just to catch the elevator — and I'm still late."
Ju, teacher at Xin Dong Fang — works across multiple high-rise buildings
"They assign workers which elevator to take, but most people just cut in line and squeeze into whatever arrives first."
Wang, employee at Hongqiao Dasha, Shanghai — 80-floor building
Challenge
How can we move the elevator experience from frustrating and passive to enjoyable and restorative — without losing the efficiency users need?
User Journey Map
Persona
"Every day I have to arrive 15 minutes early just to catch the elevator — and I'm still late."
Elena
28-year-old game developer
Elena holds a well-paying job at a prestigious office building, but nobody sees the daily frustration behind it. Because she works on the 25th floor, the tiring elevator wait sets up an unproductive mood before she even reaches her desk. Being late has already cost her payment deductions.
Pain
- Exhausted by long waiting time
- Always late to work, payment deducted
- No control or visibility over the situation
Goal
- Arrive at destination floor quickly
- Have an enjoyable, relaxing experience
- Make better use of waiting time
Problem Framing
Brainstorming
Problem & Opportunities
Ideation
Immersive Experience
- Incorporate elements of nature into the workplace.
- Use elevator walls as touchpoints to present immersive views.
- Offer different themes each day to provide freshness.
Nature Themes
- Provide spatial harmony and variability.
- Increase attachment to the environment.
- Introduce a sense of mystery that allows for exploration and arousal.
Background Music
- Let users escape a fast-paced life and enter peaceful, calm moments.
- Use white noise music for concentration and meditation.
Public Information
- Offer public information about building events during users’ free time.
- Increase personal connection among people in the building.
Design Development
Prototyping
Userflow
Final Design
Storyboard
Enjoy your elevator ride
Visual System
