The National Heritage Board (NHB) is the custodian of Singapore’s heritage. It is also the place manager of Bras Basah Bugis (BBB), Singapore’s arts and cultural belt.
NHB tapped HOL’s expertise in empathy-driven digital experiences to create a mobile-centric self-guiding map for BBB.
With museums, attractions and venues within walking distance, the BBB precinct makes for a fun and enriching day out for families and friends. These pandemic years have kept people away, however. As the country reopens and emerges from safety restrictions, it’s time to bring Singaporeans and tourists back to BBB.
How can we create a map introducing BBB to new visitors while enticing them to experience it in person? How can we help users reimagine BBB and engage with the precinct once again?
For the BBB map to succeed, it needs to do several key things:
Accessibility
The precinct has lots to offer the young, the old and everyone in between. To serve a wide range of users, the map needs to be accessible to even the most non-tech-savvy users.
When users enter the site, they immediately know what to do next: choose an icon. We built a natural and seamless pulsating animation effect into the icons. These micro-interactions help users intuitively start their journeys by tapping an icon.
Aesthetic
Many digital maps are simply tools that get people from one place to another. Their markers are functional – often basic geometric shapes, pared-down symbols and ubiquitous pin drops.
Instead of these, we adopted beautifully illustrated icons that bear strong semblance to the buildings in real life. With these markers, the map evokes the precinct’s distinctive historical character and timeless vibe. Visually appealing and inviting exploration, the map’s aesthetic engages users and reduces bounce.
Accuracy
Our map is unlike other artistically driven maps that emphasise style over accuracy. For it to be a functional guiding tool, users need to be able to rely on its content. So we took extra care to represent roads and landmarks correctly and place the markers accurately on the map. Users can thus plan their routes easily and explore the precinct, map on their mobiles in hand, with no confusion.
By prioritising user experience, we created a useful, engaging and attractive map experience that welcomes Singaporeans and tourists back to BBB. It continues to play an important part in NHB’s placemaking and place management initiatives for BBB.
