Building Trust and Connection: Designing the Palo Interactive Hub

for LQD and frog ventures

Palo, created by LQD (later acquired by Verizon), is an interactive urban communications hub designed to enhance community connectivity, education, and safety.

Opportunity and Problem:  

As a public device for community engagement, Palo needed to meet diverse user needs while ensuring ease of use, privacy, and approachability.

My Role:

In the interaction design phase (5 weeks), I developed an interaction model and an ecosystem approach, mapping content and functionality across touchpoints, while also designing UI patterns.

Process Highlights:  

A key challenge was aligning the team on a focused functionality set. Instead of overloading the device with features like content creation and messaging, I proposed a multi-device ecosystem approach, simplifying the device experience to emphasize nearby community events, wayfinding, and free internet access.

This public device required a unique design strategy; initial user attraction and trust were vital. I shifted our approach from a content-heavy home screen to an "Attract screen" that captured attention and guided users to essential functions that could benefit them.