Michelle Orack

Visual Communication Design, 2015

The being a cultural hub with something for everyone is what draws millions of people into cities. Many of these people use the subway as a means of transportation. Riders cover large demographic pools and ride for many reasons whether they are a commuter, tourist, weekender or city dweller. An individual’s interest and visual cues are top factors that drive spontaneous discovery but when on the subway key visibility of the city is lost and the time spent riding is often under utilized.

Sublocal takes advantage of time spent on the subway to reconnect people to the city above based on interests and location. The mobile application guides the in-train experience and street level interactions to create memorable discoveries. The Mobile Application is the heart of the system experience. It supports information gathering, organizing and viewing. At the train level, the environmental elements help to track progress, encourage exploration, sharing, and discussion with other riders. Environmental pieces on the street engage users who are on route to a destination or happen to find by chance.

At the show visitors were asked to share their local knowledge by writing a favorite spot to hang out or an interesting, recent visit and the location to trade with another visitor.

Michelle Orack has always been drawn to the creative side of things, which naturally turned into a decision to continue her education at The Ohio State University, in a city with a rich design community. Along with gaining a strong design education from the Visual Communications program, she has also held multiple internships in and outside of Columbus.

View more of her work at here