From Journey Mapping to Sensor Analytics – A Holistic View of Experience Design
Airports are emotionally and physically complex environments. This project explores the full spectrum of passenger experience—from the emotional journey of navigating a terminal to the physiological effects of indoor air quality (IAQ) on comfort and performance. The research was conducted as part of the Ontario International Airport Authority (ONT)’s Experiential Objectives Analysis (EOA).
- Understand and improve the passenger journey across touchpoints
- Prioritize improvements that reduce stress and improve decision-making
- Evaluate environmental comfort factors through sensor analysis
- Translate behavioral insights into actionable strategies for design, investment, and operations
This study was executed across three primary layers of research:
- Contextual Observations across terminal touchpoints
- Journey Mapping of different traveler personas (e.g., new parent, elderly traveler, solo flyer)
- Behavioral Mapping to identify real-time decisions, bottlenecks, and stress triggers
- Persona Development grounded in real data—generated from interviews, ethnography, and behavior tracking
- Visibility Analysis of gates vs. amenities (e.g., food, restrooms, water stations)
- Eye-tracking simulations to validate behavior: passengers prioritize gate visibility over amenities
- Mapped decision paralysis caused by poor environmental cues
- Identified opportunities for wayfinding improvement and revenue uplift
“Passengers would rather eat something less desirable that’s near the gate than explore unknown options—they’re afraid of missing their flight.”
- Add digital terminal maps with real-time walking distances
- Introduce localized dining options to increase sense of place
- Long-term redesign suggestions to maximize line-of-sight visibility across concessions
While journey mapping addressed emotional and cognitive load, we also investigated the physiological comfort of passengers and employees through environmental sensor analysis.
- Conducted across 9 unique spaces in a 3-story terminal office
- Collected and cleaned sensor data (CO₂, Temperature, Noise, Light, Sound)
- Performed threshold-based outlier detection
- Visualized patterns to inform comfort, fatigue, and alertness levels
- CO₂ – proxy for air quality & ventilation effectiveness
- Temperature – thermal comfort & productivity correlation
- Noise & Sound – stress and cognitive overload
- Light – visual strain and circadian alignment
These IAQ findings were triangulated with passenger behavioral maps to uncover “comfort deserts” in the terminal—spaces with both cognitive and physiological friction.
- Prioritized improvements based on real user pain points
- Aligned behavioral, emotional, and environmental data for holistic design strategy
- Delivered short-term wins (signage, visibility fixes) and long-term investments (architectural adjustments, IAQ retrofits)
- Created a replicable model for data-driven experiential design
This project illustrates:
- Leading end-to-end primary research (qual & quant)
- Enabling faster learning velocity through mixed-method insights
- Bridging emotional, behavioral, and physical experience data
- Clear communication of findings to influence high-stakes decisions
- Deep alignment with human-centered, business-focused, and data-integrated design strategy
Designing great experiences starts with understanding people—how they think, feel, move, and breathe in a space. This project demonstrates how integrated design research can move beyond assumptions and into measurable outcomes. I bring this same strategic, human-centered mindset to every research challenge—and I’m excited to continue applying it in new contexts like financial services.