Toronto Tiny Town

Collaboration with City of Toronto to reimagine and update its 40-year-old model of the city

OVERVIEW

The Background

The City of Toronto’s Tiny Town model was used as a planning tool in the early 1990s, but its novelty – and the advent of new planning technology – has since turned it into more of a tourist destination at City Hall. The model still has its uses, like pointing newcomers to the city’s oldest landmarks and areas of interest, but it only shows what was there thirty years ago. The Urban Design department wanted to update Tiny Town physically and virtually.

Duration

3 months

Tools

Figma, Miro, Adobe XD, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva

Client

The Challenge

Design an easily updatable, flexible model incorporating new technology while prioritizing accessibility

The Solution

City of Toronto

Role

UX/UI Researcher and Designer

New 3D printed physical model combined with a digital augmented reality experience

Copy of Tiny Town Final Presentation-2.png

The current model is out of date. It is enclosed by glass and difficult to replace, repair and clean the model. Hence there was a pressing need to update the model both for aesthetics and for practicality.

Copy of Tiny Town Final Presentation-3.png

Copy of Tiny Town Final Presentation-4.png

To begin research I conducted literature reviews, pulling info from books such as "AccessAbility 2" and "the measure of man and woman" to determine accessible requirement and measurements.

I also reviewed several websites such as the ABF (American foundation for the blind) to gather more information on accessibility.

I looked at the "Whats our plan Toronto" white paper and studied different interactive exhibits to gather ideas on different features that could be used in this model.

Copy of Tiny Town Final Presentation-6.png

The next thing I did was research different existing models and conduct an environmental scan.

From here I listed out their strengths such their mass appeal and high fidelity and design which appeals to tourists. Some weaknesses discovered were that they were non-interactive and non-tactile, they are spectacle focused and some lack accessibility, and lastly they are quite costly.

Some opportunities found that tiny town could focus on was the end user ownership, introducing customization, long term development, and utility.

Copy of Tiny Town Final Presentation-7.png

I then prepared and conducted a survey which had 66 participants and asked them a variety of questions to scope out what real people want from this model. I gained some very useful insights into needs from the results.

Some questions in the survey includes tools to be incorporated to help overcome barriers. People responded with things such as signs referring to where the ramps are, dedicated sensory times, lower art for shorter people and accessibility for wheelchair users.

There were additional questions such as what kind of information people would like to know about the city. Responses suggested history, newly developed areas, parks and bike trails, the LGBTQ2+ scene, and kid friendly areas in the city.

Screen Shot 2021-08-23 at 1.47.26 AM.png

Age?

Visually Impaired?

Screen Shot 2021-08-23 at 1.48.03 AM.png

What tools could be incorporated to help overcome barriers when visiting exhibitions?

Signs referring to where the ramps are
More outdoor galleries or interactive spaces during lockdowns
Captions on everything
Dedicated sensory friendly times
No flashing lights or loud sounds
Step stools? Hanging art lower so that smaller stature people and wheelchair users can view? or something movable height-wise
Redesign to allow more mechanical options to see exhibit at different perspectives
Ramps, hearing impaired aids , visually impaired aids