Welcoming visitors from all backgrounds, Hallock State Park celebrated a successful grand opening thanks to ADG's sophisticated yet simple digital kiosks.

Opportunity

The State of New York was opening a brand new state park – Hallock State Park - located on Long Island just outside New York City. This State Park had been in the works for decades, and
State Park Officials, the Governer, and local residents of Long Island and New York City were eagerly awaiting the official opening of Hallock.

Hallock would be the only park with beach access on the North Shore of Long Island, positioning the park to be immediately popular. It also had a fascinating more recent industrial history, as well as an ancient glacial history. In terms of its natural features, the park has unique geological features in the form of hoodoos (a kind of rare rock pillar), large sand dunes, and was a key bird migration site.

The park was also located nearby wineries and small towns that regularly attracted tourists. As part of the effort of the State to win the support of the local community, the visitor’s center would also promote local wine, produce, and tourist attractions.

ADG was asked to design digital informational kiosks for the visitor’s center.

Design Challenge

User Experience Design

Because of the proximity to New York City, Hallock State Park was expected to draw large crowds from all segments of the population. This meant the user experience would need to
account for segments of the population from the elderly, who may be less comfortable with technology, to children. Additionally, users who did not speak English as a first language were also expected. Therefore the user experience design had to prioritize accessibility to a diverse array of needs.
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Information Design

The park had the benefit of having a rich history that would appeal to many interests. The park had elements of human history: as an early European settlement and then later as a site for a Nuclear power plant – which sparked an important environmental movement. In terms of natural history, the site was a vital bird migration site and hosted woodlands, sand dunes, and rare rock formations. Alongside accessibility, the information would have to be segmented and layered to apply to diverse interests. Additionally, as protected land, it was also important to give visitors a sense of respect for the land so it could be enjoyed for generations.
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Technological Integration

ADG partnered with Moey, Inc who were responsible for the 3-D Design of the Kiosk. Moey had an existing kiosk CMS platform that needed to be integrated with the information design and user experience.

UX/UI

In order to meet the accessibility challenge, the User Experience Design featured:

To give users a sense of the Park, the information design featured:

• Custom styling that maintained accessibility
• Integrated New York State Park branding
• Clear, illustrative, and easily-interpretable icons
• Large titles that were easily readable
• Typography selected for legibility
• Menu composed of large and inviting buttons

To give users a sense of the Park, the information design featured:

• User segmentation through the UX design
• Segmentation based on color coding and curatorial categories
• Text copy that was layered for readers of all levels
• Descriptions that offered insights from basic to advanced education levels

To launch the Kiosk, ADG worked alongside Moey, Inc to successfully integrate their technological platform.

• Information design was aligned with CMS specifications
• Color placement was carefully selected for ease of integration

Impact

The State Park was opened to the public in July 2017 to great fanfare by the Commissioner of NY State Parks, Rose Harvey. The $4.5 Million Visitor’s Centre was praised in local news and by government officials, also mentioning the kiosk design. Since opening the park has seen over 60,000 recorded visitors – a number growing significantly year on year.