‘Al-Balad’ dates back to the 17th century from which jeddah grew from a small fishing settlement into a unique place with exquisite architecture.
In 2014 UNESCO , has added Al Balad Historical District to the World Heritage sites list alongside 6 other sites from Saudi Arabia.
It took two weeks to complete this project. I worked on this project as part of a brilliant team( Mai Al-saad, Salwa Radwan, Moath,Razan Alghamdi and Lana shukri). I was responsible of a several things, including research, visual design, and storyboard.
The Challenge
“History is an important factor in shaping cities, cultures, and identities. Saudi Arabia has a lack of public awareness in heritage”.
The lack of public awareness in heritage led to a disconnect from identity.Throughout the project we conducted a desk and contextual research this allowed us to quickly understand the challenge. we wanted to showcase the preserved heritage and give a sense of identity.
The Approach
There are four primary neighborhoods in the Al-Balad District. As we plan a trip with a clear path to cover as much area as possible under two hours. Unfortunately, we were unaware of the nature of albalad. As a result, a new path was chosen.
Insights
The lack of way-finding.
Starting point must have parking.
Language barrier both Arabic & English.
The lack of guidance especially to historical facts (oldest court).
Resting stops (water, restroom, air conditioning, charging phone).
Our research showed that many users would benefit from a web-based solution.To analyze and test the websites of competitors. We conducted a business analysis in order to find answers that would aid in our progress.
Recommendation:
Provide clear paths for the user to explore the place without getting lost.
Provide place background story of historical places.
Provide rules for safety and regulation for the place, restriction, capacity and rules.
The Discovery
When our tourists visit Al-Balad, they often do not get the entire experience. Our solution should result in a simple, seamless, and enjoyable visit.
The Vision
We used storyboard throughout the project to guide design decisions, priorities, and create empathy .
The Framework
creating a frameworks and prototypes to share the vision, design principles and content strategy.
The Refinement
We test the prototype with users to help define tasks and evaluate the app.
And we got these feedback
Change from the drop down menu to choose a multiple tags.
add more features .
Take Away
More key features, such as “Plan your visit,” should be added.
Add a feature for instant translation from Arabic to other languages (English, Italian, and so on).
