Parking can be a hassle, and the confusing signs don’t help much you determine what you can can’t do. This is something that must be reworked! The thought of redesign came to me when I was parking in a university parking garage. There was a system of red and green lights on the ceiling. I had looked up and never seen this before and was a little confused at first. Then I saw the red ones where above head to empty looking spots. I saw the empty-looking parking spot and instantly knew what the system was, and it is clever. I automatically was thinking, “Why don’t we have this everywhere!?”
So this exactly what I designed my new parking meters for. I knew in this redesign we would want to say goodbye to confusing signs like in the above picture. They didn’t have a clear direction of what you’re doing in a short, concise time as you pass it. This always frustrates me when I finally read it, and I’ve passed up a spot.
To minimize this problem I want to use a system like the universities. It was clear and concise, just what I was looking for. It had that “big idea”. In my mind for parking its about checking that mark, “yes, I can park there and not get ticketed.”.
A few crazy 8’s later I got my idea down pat. I wanted to design a post that will serve as the parking meter except it will have a light on it to indicate if the spot is open or not. Green for yes and Red for no. This was the core concept I needed to work off of anyways.
As you can see down below, I have a more refined sketch of the product and it nodes to a few more complex ideas about it. By adding a QR code indicating more information about specific parking details. The number indicating which meter your at to pay for parking. This to me was a directions cities soon where also going to take a step into not just universities.
During the research phase after I got this sketch complete I wanted to send the prototype I made around to see if people were going to get a clear understanding of what this is if they just say one sitting on the side of the road.
Surprisingly much of the feedback I got from friends was initially ok. If they did not understand that my prototype is for parking beforehand, they would have no clue what it was. However, if they knew it is for parking, they immediately understood what it was. I guess this is a similar reaction I had to the university’s use of lights in their parking garage. Context with this design is everything.
This is the prototype. It is made out of foam core and is scored to be made foldable into a rectangle. I sat it up right and put my iPad on top to show off a slide of green and red slides to simulate the red and green lights that it will have. The QR code will be just about an inch or two below the light .
Now seeing the prototype out and about I too have so many more questions. Some questions that I didn’t even think about in the sketching phase. A list of questions would be
- What if the person doesn’t have a smart phone to scan QR code?
- What if in the night the QR code is not scannable? How will they pay?
- What if it is close to the time where it is becoming not a park-able spot? Does the light turn yellow? Would people even understand?
These are only a few questions the more I type the more I wonder about these little nuances. I’ve seen similar ideas tried. The Charleston train station in Boston, MA uses a QR code system after you park to pay it seems ok and everyone got the memo when the switch happened. So I know these questions are not impossible to answer!
In conclusion I want to move this project forward I feel like it as great potential to succeed and go beyond the original goal. I feel as though when the cities want modernization it is not an easy time however I think its worth trying.
