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New York City Tests New Approach to Subway Maps; Richard Branson’s Cruise Line Aims to Conquer Queues
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Welcome back. New York City transit authorities are carefully gathering reactions to a possible new subway map. A new cruise ship has been designed to reduce the frustrating wait times that are common in the industry. And Apple continues to consider ways to make its products useful in consumer health.
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CONTENT FROM OUR SPONSOR: SAP
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Siemens’ Strategic Move Toward a New User Experience
When it comes to transitioning an organization to a new user experience, what can you do to support employees through a potentially disruptive transition?
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A commuter examines the new subway diagram. PHOTO: MARC A. HERMANN/MTA
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A new subway map is slowly appearing in some stations across New York City, and it looks a lot like the one that was scrapped in the 1970s, Katie Deighton writes for the Experience Report.
The city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is testing an alternative to the familiar subway map in use for more than 40 years. The new map distorts the shape of the city more than the current one to better show how the system’s tracks interact with each other, much like Massimo Vignelli’s modernist design did from 1972 until 1979, and will be displayed wherever possible alongside a new, geographically accurate map of the city.
The new subway map is on display in nine stations and accompanied by a QR code that subway riders can scan to access a webpage to give feedback. Rather than placing them in large frames, like the current maps, the MTA is printing some onto self-adhesive vinyl that can be stuck directly to walls.
“What I’m trying to do is introduce this map in a way that doesn’t cause fear, introducing it gradually so people can get used to it,” said Sarah Meyer, chief customer officer of the MTA.
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The Experience Forum Is Coming Up
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Join us on Nov. 1 for the second WSJ Experience Management Forum, where we’ll be discussing what we’ve learned about the impact of the pandemic and reopening.
Speakers include the digital psychology and behavioral design lecturer Liraz Margalit, Atrium Health CXO Vishal Bhalla and Matt Inman, the global director of customer experience at Johnson Controls.
Get more details here; then register here using the code EXPREPORT.
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The Scarlet Lady, the first ship from Virgin Voyages. PHOTO: VIRGIN VOYAGES
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Virgin Voyages’ first cruise ship set sail last week after months of pandemic-related delays, looking to offer plentiful dining and entertainment options while cutting back on one thing that has irritated cruise passengers for years: long lines.
The Scarlet Lady asks its 1,300-plus passengers to use an app aimed at helping them avoid long physical lines by allowing for digital reservations for its restaurants, dance shows and other activities, Katie Deighton reports.
It is also staggering the start times of its shows and activities so guests naturally sit down to eat at different times, without management mandating set dining slots or leaving passengers to scramble for reservations.
Shorter trial voyages in the south of England in the summer let Virgin catch various snags with the app and improve other frustrating experiences, such as long queues for Covid-19 testing stations that guests must pass through before boarding. The Scarlet Lady’s design team will now observe on-deck how customers navigate the ship and its spaces under real-world conditions.
“How people naturally understand a space, and feel comfortable and confident within it, is something we’ve tried to put in the design, but we’ll still learn,” said Dee Cooper, senior vice president of design and customer experience at Virgin Voyages.
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“I can wear it without announcing to the world that I do CrossFit.”
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— Martin Romero, a photographer in New York who wears a Oura ring, a device for tracking sleep, heart rates and more. Its maker responded to requests for the latest model to be smaller and more discreet than the original.
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Apple’s AirPods. PHOTO: KENNY WASSUS/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Apple is studying ways to make AirPods into a health device, including for enhancing hearing, reading body temperature and monitoring posture, Rolfe Winkler reports.
The plans further demonstrate Apple’s ambition to add health and wellness features to devices beyond the Apple Watch, where most of the company’s health functions exist today.
Apple is also working on technology that aims to use iPhones to help diagnose depression and cognitive decline, the Journal reported last month.
It isn’t clear if Apple is developing specific new hearing-aid features for AirPods or wants to market the earbuds’ existing hearing-improvement features as hearing aids.
AirPods Pro, Apple’s higher-end earbuds, already offer features to improve hearing, including “conversation boost,” launched last week, that increases the volume and clarity of people in front of the wearer.
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PHOTO: DOORDASH
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DoorDash has begun selling restaurant ads that appear in search results in the app. [WSJ]
How online ordering has changed the Shake Shack and Chipotle experiences. [Slate]
Passengers can now pay via contactless payment on United Airlines flights, thanks to a partnership with PayPal. [Travel + Leisure]
Fashion retailer Pacsun will accept crypto payments for online purchases. [Coindesk]
Bloomie’s, Ulta’s shops inside Target and five other store concepts that opened this year. [Retail Dive]
L.L. Bean is beginning to sell used clothing. [WWD]
Customers can now send Adidas used clothing to resell it. [Fast Company]
TBWA named Ben Williams global chief creative experience officer. [Ad Age]
Tinder and Lyft rolled out a feature that lets dating app users buy a ride for their date. [The Verge]
Facebook created an audio hub in its mobile app. [TechCrunch]
Twitter is introducing a feature that lets users remove a follower without blocking them. [The Verge]
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