Part 1 of 3

For my final project in Public Interfaces, co-taught by Jake Barton and Ian Curry from Local Projects, I worked to create an engaging public interface for my imaginary client of the New York Yankees.

After conducting primary research, talking to various fans as well as visiting the stadium for what would be the last game of the season, and a great deal of secondary research on the internet, I identified several key problems with the new Yankee Stadium :: 

• Since the move, fans feel a disconnect between the Yankees’ past and their role in it
• Yankee Stadium sees a variety of visitors, from 1st time casual fans to diehard bleacher creatures. They have very different motives and desires as fans.
• Attendance at games often feels like a singular event, unrelated to previous games attended or witnessed through another medium.

With these problems in mind, I identified the following goals ::

• How can both diehard fans and first time visitors feel a connection to the Yankees and their past?
• How can attendance at a game not be viewed as a singular event, but rather, a continuous story between the Yankees and their fans
• How can this story continue after fans have left Yankee Stadium?

At the midterm, I rejected the use of mobile phones, dismissing them as a personal device, rather than a public interface. But as Jake and Ian pointed out, by moving away from mobile phones, I took fans out of their seats and asked them to engage with interfaces on the concourses of the stadium, away from the action. So, for the final, I elected to bring the phone into the system, which would allow a visitor to Yankee Stadium to create a profile and enter the experience by checking into their seat. This video demonstrates the experience in the phone, while subsequent posts will show the larger experience.

Big props to Hoshi Ludwig for his assistance in visual identity/design