I design thoughtful experiences by translating research into clear interaction patterns and real-world product decisions.
Resume
Work
I design thoughtful experiences by translating research into clear interaction patterns and real-world product decisions.
Resume
Work
Designing an Accessible
Theater Experience
University of Washington
2025
the problem
Movie theaters often rely on assistive technologies—such as captioning devices and audio aids—that are fragile, inconsistent, and difficult to troubleshoot once a film begins. When these tools fail, users must choose between missing critical content or disrupting the experience by leaving their seat to seek help.
For audiences who rely on accessibility features, these breakdowns can turn a leisure activity into a stressful and exclusionary experience
the participant
- identifies & born as hard of hearing (HoH)
- strong visual processor
- prefers multi-channel communication
- retired special education teacher
my role & responsibilities
I worked as a UX researcher and designer, leading co-design sessions, synthesizing participant feedback, and translating insights into service and interaction concepts. I focused specifically on moments of breakdown—when technology fails, and users need support without drawing attention to themselves.
design challenge
How might we help users quickly recover from accessibility failures during a movie—without leaving their seat or disrupting others?
approach
To understand real accessibility needs beyond assumptions, I collaborated directly with participants using assistive technologies, prioritizing co-design and participatory methods over top-down solutions.
secondary research
“I Like, I Wish, I Wonder”
Improving Audio Communications
Ambient Noises in Loud Spaces
Themes:
Autonomy: Assistive solutions should enable users to navigate any environment independently, without relying on external accommodations.
Connectedness & Interdependence: Assistive technology should support effortless social interaction without centering disability or creating friction.
Options & Customization: Accessibility is strongest when users can customize multimodal tools to fit their needs across contexts.
Inequitable Access: Well-designed assistive tools can help users navigate systems and spaces not built with them in mind.
Competitive Analysis
Assistive technologies vary widely in form and functionality—ranging from physical devices to wireless and phone-managed solutions. While each offers distinct benefits, user preferences and contexts (e.g., cost, environmental factors, and comfort with wearable devices) strongly influence adoption. Across existing products, flexibility, ease of troubleshooting, and reliable battery life consistently emerge as key requirements.
co-design through role-play
We conducted a role-play co-design session to simulate key moments in a hard-of-hearing moviegoing experience. By walking through realistic scenarios—setup, viewing, and failure recovery—we surfaced needs that would not emerge through interview questions alone, particularly around autonomy, visibility, and low-friction support.
Scenarios
Scenario 1: Getting Connected (Before the Movie)
The participant role-played arriving early, finding her seat, and setting up assistive technology before showtime. We examined how she expects to verify that audio and captions are correctly connected to the appropriate theater and screen.Scenario 2: Watching the Movie (Lights Dimmed)
We simulated in-theater viewing to determine which controls and adjustments she expects to have access to during the movie, including audio balance, dialogue clarity, caption placement, and device charging.Scenario 3: Getting Help (System Failure)
We introduced a realistic failure—captions freezing mid-movie—to understand how she would want to resolve the issue discreetly, without disrupting the experience or relying on verbal communication
design themes
F
“There are situations where I won’t participate, and that can be isolating socially. I’ve just accepted that over time.”
Autonomy
Support independent interaction with the world.
Minimize technology barriers and reliance on customer service.
Connectedness & Interdependence
Connection to friends, family, and society is a priority.
Self-sufficiency in assistive technology supports both autonomy and connection.
Options & Customization
People with hearing loss have a range of needs.
Assistive technology should be customizable, multi-modal, and employ universal connectivity.
Equitable Access
Inadequate accommodations in public spaces create barriers to participation.
Ableist norms require people with disabilities to work harder to be included.
findings
Captioning data is equally important as intelligible speech support. Don’t assume deaf/ hard-of-hearing (D/Hoh) people rely primarily on audio data.
Centralized control and customization of audio and captions
Improve speech intelligibility by streaming audio directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants via Wi-Fi and T-Coil technology.
Support individual customization of audio settings throughout the movie
Provide individual caption screens, height-adjustable at/below eye level.
Support customization of text display color, background color, text size, and number of lines displayed
design solution + service design approach
Mobile AT App Hub + Accessible Seating Areas + Real-time On-Site User SupportMobile AT APP Hub: Controls audio Wi-Fi streaming directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants AND captioning to individual text displays.
Accessible Seating: At-seat caption displays and phone charging.
User Support: Trained user support to address AT issues onsite in real time
This AT App Hub allows users to customize audio and captioning to their own needs.
Users can access live customer support through the app.
Individual audio and captioning allow all showtimes to be accessible.
design storyboard
feedback from the participant
The participant rated the final design a 5/5, noting that it accurately reflected her lived experience and accessibility needs.
What worked
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She felt “heard and understood” throughout the process
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Role-play scenarios helped her articulate needs that are difficult to express verbally
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Exploring multiple assistive technology approaches clarified her ideal solution
What could improve
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She would have valued more time for collaborative iteration
Requested changes
- None identified for the final design
reflection
This project reinforced the importance of designing with participants, not for them. Role-play and asynchronous feedback created space for participants to surface needs that often go unspoken in traditional interviews. With more time, I would extend the co-design timeline and involve additional participants to validate patterns while preserving the depth required for accessibility-focused design. It also shifted my thinking from isolated features to connected systems spanning technology, physical space, and human support.
next steps
Our session revealed many features of physical space design that we would need to research, prototype and test to further develop this solution. Given that we have been working with only one participant, any market application would undergo wider user testing.
1. Prototype different form factors for screen placement.
2. Research lower-cost solutions for theaters that don't require the purchase of new seating with in-seat captioning screens and chargers.
3. Prototype and test accessible seating areas with chargers and seatback screens.
4. Prototype and test advanced volume controls (e.g. dialog boost) capability to deliver more consistent speech intelligibility vs relying solely on captions.
HCDE - University of Washington