Making the past more present
For this auto tour of the Gettysburg battlefield we wanted to keep our history buffs focused on their surroundings—what happened in Gettysburg, and exactly where—instead of on their weird, futuristic phones, so we gave them an app with only the most basic functionality and design.
The graphics simply alternate between an illustrated map on “driving screens” and a picture of the relevant landmark on “stop screens.” This lets users immediately know whether to be driving or stopping during each section of audio.
The app is both manageable while driving a car, since a third of the audio plays in transit, and accessible to older audiences, since a large percentage of users are over 65. Finally, the battle sites have no wifi, so the app has to work without being dependent on a connection.