Our final project for our Persuasive Design class consisted of a proposed re-design of our school building's lobby and stairwell, in order to encourage greater use of the stairs instead of the elevators.
The lobby and stairwell are pretty bare and drab when it comes to visual cues regarding the stairs. There's no incentive for anyone to take the stairs, except for their own personal motivation which could stem from a variety of reasons: exercise, save time, be environmentally friendly, etc.
Our motivation was two-fold: decrease elevator traffic and make the stairwell a more interesting and pleasing environment to be in. We began throwing around ideas about how to go about this re-design and decided to focus on visual cues and fun theory. We believe that with the right cues, we can bluntly and subliminally persuade people to choose to take the stairs rather than the elevator.
In our mockup, we added several elements to the lobby: a clock above the elevators as a subtle reminder of the time spent waiting for elevators; carpeting that directs people towards the stairs rather than the elevators; visual cues on the first set of stairs to direct people towards the stairwell; better lighting for the stairs; a large arrow directing people to the stairs; and a directory of the floors in the building, with a subtle design element that points to the stairwell.
The two pictures below (click on the right arrow to see the 2nd one) show the differences between how the lobby looks now, and what our proposal entails.