Context: a campus that is constantly changing

More than 13,000 students and staff move around the campus of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ( EPFL), located in the Lausanne conurbation, next to the site of the University of Lausanne (UNIL). In addition to staff offices, the campus has many places to eat, museums and galleries, lecture rooms, libraries, laboratories and various places of interest. A simple, accessible and ergonomic tool is needed by both occasional visitors and those who are regularly there, to enable them to find their way around. 

The present position: an interactive map

The interactive map plan.epfl.ch, developed by Camptocamp, a company based at l'EPFL, brings together all the necessary information. The site is used by a range of different users (students, lecturers, staff and visitors).

Project objectives: accessibility and ease of use

We have been tasked by those responsible for plan.epfl.ch with developing a new ergonomic design for the platform. The objective is to make the tool faster to use and more responsive, so that it can be accessed easily from all types of device.

As the platform is most often accessed from mobile devices, it is critical to the success of the project that it takes account of the constraints associated with mobiles.

Our expertise in ergonomics and design

This project is divided into several steps, each accompanied by a full report.

We started by going directly on site to meet users and learn about their habits, so that we could best meet their needs. In addition to providing information for the team at EPFL, these interviews gave us practical information, enabling us to fine-tune our vision and offer a makeover closely matched to the needs of end-users.

The next steps

We have submitted wireframes and designs to the EPFL project team, and we are working in close collaboration with Camptocamp, who will be responsible for technical implementation on the basis of our recommendations. 

We are delighted that our collaboration is proving successful, with the new version of plan.epfl.ch due to launch this autumn!