The RSA student awards is a competition that invites students to tackle social, environmental, and economical issues by developing creative solutions that could shift the system and change the world. For this competition, students can choose from a set of briefs that detail different systems that have weaknesses. One of the briefs from the 2023 competition that I resonated with was ‘Signalling Change’, which asks the question ‘How might we tap into the potential of train stations so they become spaces that amplify and influence positive behaviours?’.
As I travel to and from the university by train and often use the train for my travel, I had plenty of opportunities to research by observation, and also had an amount of knowledge based on my own experiences. I was inspired by this project to find a way to make travelling by train a more sociable and interactive experience. Therefore, this was the brief I decided to explore throughout this project.
When researching this project, I explored common issues affecting train stations. One key problem I identified, both through research and personal experience, was the sense of loneliness when travelling alone - particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic - alongside the difficulty of understanding train schedules, especially during delays or cancellations. Initially, I proposed developing an interactive digital display that would provide information on topics such as train safety and health and well-being in an engaging and interactive format. However, I found it challenging to justify how and why passengers would stop to use it, particularly when they may be concerned about missing their trains. As a result, I refined my idea into a mobile app designed to connect individuals travelling on the same or similar routes at the same time, enabling them to engage with others and reducing the experience of travelling alone.
As the focus of this RSA brief was to tap into the potential of train stations, and my project centred on improving the experience of travelling alone, I ensured the brand felt both friendly and familiar. To achieve this, I aligned the visual identity with existing train-related apps so users would feel comfortable and recognise the style. I chose green as the primary colour to maintain consistency with apps such as Trainline, while introducing orange as a secondary colour to add warmth and approachability. As a complementary colour to green, orange also works effectively from a visual design perspective.
For typography, I selected a serif font called Magic Romance for headings, as its expressive and distinctive serifs convey a sense of friendliness and character. This helps create a more relaxed user experience and subtly communicates the idea of a welcoming community within the app. For body text, I used Poppins, a clean and highly legible sans-serif font that is widely recognised, ensuring readability and ease of use.
Guided by these brand decisions, I moved on to developing wireframes and initial sketches, focusing on the overall user journey. At this stage, I prioritised structure and functionality, identifying the key information required on each screen without applying visual styling. This approach was essential, as effective UX design prioritises usability before aesthetics. Once I had established a clear and logical flow between screens, I progressed to the design and prototyping phase. To reinforce the app’s connection to train travel, I incorporated visual elements inspired by railway systems, such as line-based graphics reminiscent of the London Underground map, helping users instantly associate the app with its context.
Overall, I am happy with my progress in this project and think it was successful in relating to the brief I had chosen, as well as improving my knowledge of UI and app design. For example, over the course of this project, I learnt a lot about the importance of layout and visual hierarchy in UI design. This will be very useful to me going forward, as I am now able to work with apps and prototyping more efficiently as I know the steps I need to take to produce a successful project. This project also taught me some valuable lessons about research and how important research is to aiding design. To give an example, I found a lot of research about positive solitude which informed me that a lot of people do value their own time and I would need to create other features on the app for it to have wide usage.
This project succeeded in targeting the United Nations' sustainable goal 3 - ‘Good Health and Wellbeing’, which was one of the brief requirements, as it targeted the mental well-being of individuals who have suffered from a lack of socialisation due to the pandemic. Encouraging people to communicate and spend time with one another, as well as meeting new people often in their lives helps improve mental well-being, as found out during my research stage. The effect covid-19 had on society is detailed greatly in the UN sustainability goal, so it was important I took this into account during my project.
If I were to submit this project to the RSA student awards, I would improve it by displaying my research more effectively, as there was a lot of thought behind this project. I would also add an A3 board, as these boards were part of the RSA submission guidelines, that details the social and environmental impact this project has, so that this project's innovative approach to the weaknesses in society, particularly train stations, is more evident to the judging panel. Download my A3 RSA boards here.
Explore a selection of collaborative projects, using motion and design to communicate ideas and bring them to life.
