Street Park

An Imagined Feature for Apple Maps

Lead Designer
Lead Researcher
80 Hours

Background

Ever had your car towed because you misread a parking sign? Or spent what seems like hours trying to find that one spot that’s at least sort of close to your place? Decided that going out just wasn’t worth it because you knew parking would be an issue?

Street parking and its associated costs are a major headache and can snowball into major financial stress. Anxiety about parking can effect how people engage with their own cities.

I decided to have some fun and imagine a feature that wasn’t constrained by today’s tech, but something that might be part of our not-so-distant future.

Street parking is expensive, time consuming, and negatively impacts how drivers engage with their cities.

The Problem

Solution

STREET PARK

An iOS feature addition that uses AI, Big Data, and real time satellite imagery to help users:

  • See nearby street parking options and details

  • Get directions to available spots

  • Explore their cities more easily

Users decide if they want street parking before their trip starts, while they’re on the road, or if they want to choose their own parking spot when they’re ready.

Convenient and flexible.

Parking View allows users to see nearby spots with details like time restrictions and ADA accessibility. No need to stop in the middle of the road and squint at a parking sign!

Quit honkin’ at me!

Users can look for alternative spots in case of unexpected obstacles like that pesky neighbor whos “saving a spot" with a traffic cone. Users can pause their trip or continue on foot towards their destination once they park!

Neighbor- proof.

The Process

Competitive analysis

I conducted a competitive analysis of GPS and Parking Apps to learn more about current solutions to parking woes.

Although I knew a true street parking app in the way I was imagining might be a work of science fiction, it was useful to understand what features and design choices worked and which didn’t when it came to our real world market.

Horror stories

I had plenty of stories about nightmare searches for street parking. But how did other drivers deal with the joys of commuting?

I interviewed 5 Apple Map users who lived in cities or suburban areas to learn more about their street parking experiences. I learned about their struggles, pain points, and their parking behavior.

Who are we designing for?

Users had confirmed my suspicions: finding street parking was at best an inconvenience (big surprise). At worst, a constant worry that made it less likely drivers would explore, shop, and meet friends. As one interviewee said:

“My ability to engage with the city is limited by parking”

I developed a persona to reflect the pain points, goals and needs of a young professional in a hard-to-park city.

How does this feature fit?

Since I knew I’d be using Map’s existing design principles and UI, ideation was based on exploring ways the feature was likely to be used, and how it could be seamlessly integrated into the Maps experience. I then drew up flows to account for various contexts in which a user might want to look for street parking.

A/B testing & Usability Test 1

I was able to quickly A/B test some mid-fi screens. After some initial tweaks, I conducted a usability test with 4 Maps users. The first of which focused on concept, structure, and overall UI.

Feedback

Users were sometimes unclear how and when the feature was active
Solution: Improve icons to better convey system status

Just because you park doesn’t mean the trip is over
Solution: Improve end-of-trip system

Users did not like having to switch to a different map mode to view nearby street parking. One button press while on the “driving” map mode makes more sense
Solution: Rework how the parking map is accessed

Usability Test 2

I quickly addressed the feedback and developed a second usability test with 3 Map users on 4 tasks based on different use cases. Success metrics were: completion rate, desirability, and fit with current Maps experience.

Tasks

  1. Get directions to 5907 Frazier Ln with the street park feature enabled.

  2. Proceed to your final destination after you’ve arrived.

  3. Find some nearby street parking spots.

  4. Activate the feature while your trip is ongoing.

Feedback

Users felt the button to activate the feature mid-trip was not clear. It also differs from Maps current system, which is to change shape not color.
Solution: Improve icon

Users were still confused by the end state of a trip once they’ve parked.
Solution: Language and UI revisions to clarify

3/3 users also reported wanting to be able to select their own parking spots and use the map view to learn more about parking spots nearby.
Solution: Parking spots should be selectable and include details

Priority Revisions

I used all previously gathered feedback to create a final high fidelity prototype.

Users can now select parking spots on the Street Parking View to get more details as well as directions.

Icon changed to better convey its function and adhere to Maps design system.

"Next Stop" changed to "Continue" to clarify next step for users.

Button design modified to reduce visual competition.

Once users are parked and press “continue”, the map will transition to the pedestrian explore mode with the current Maps UI.

Try the prototype!

Updates include:

  • A revised map mode

  • Icon improvements

  • ADA accessible parking filter

  • An improved end of trip flow for when users park and keep walking, or need to find another spot

  • Total rework of the street parking view mode- users now see nearby spots only. View mode is accessed via the “Drive” map mode, rather than explore, transit, etc.

Reflection

This was a great project to learn more about existing design systems and try to iterate rapidly following test results.

While I was a bit hesitant at first to design something I didn’t believe could exist given our current tech, I found the imagined technology was easily understood by most users and simulated how a more realistic feature might be developed.

Going forward I would think more about how audio would work for this feature. Much of how users interact with their GPS is based on sound, and it would have been interesting to explore those considerations.

Next Steps

  • Experiment with ways to improve the Parking View mode both visually and by including more details about specific spots.

  • Find ways to help users pay for parking within the app-Apple Pay integration?

  • More customizability- preference settings could allow users to enter their vehicle size so they don’t get unsuitable results for example.

Thanks for reading!