While New York City is one of the world's richest cities, it is also one of the dirtiest. Rat Patrol is a user experience design concept project that seeks to improve the cleanliness of New York City by encouraging community stakeholders to play a role in the battle towards clean streets.
RESPONSIBILITIES
System Design
User Interface Design
TOOLS
Figma
DURATION
2 MONTHS
PROBLEM
Residents feel as if their tax dollars are being wasted because public streets remain dirty and pest-infested. Government oversight such as routine pesticide sprayings and changes to garbage disposal laws are not enough to curtail the city’s rodent issue. Residents want a way to take direct charge of the reform in their neighborhoods.
DESIGN PROCESS
As someone with over two decades of lived experience in New York City, I’ve witnessed the frustrations residents face with persistent rodent issues. These lived experiences shaped the foundation of Rat Patrol. My design process began by considering key questions like:
What is the Rat Patrol's information architecture?
What digital components are necessary to help solve the problem statement?
How can I create an intuitive experience that aligns with standard design principles?
To ground my approach in user-centered thinking, I drew from conversations with neighbors, local social media posts, and community boards.
I also drew inspiration by exploring established successful location-based tools like Citizen, a real-time public safety alert app, and Google Maps, known for its seamless and user-friendly approach to geospatial navigation. Their influence guided me in envisioning a system where users could easily report sightings and coordinate clean-up efforts all within an interface that feels familiar and intuitive.
FEATURES
Comprehensive map page
The landing page of Rat Patrol features a high-definition, custom-rendered map of New York City as its immersive background. Users can freely scroll through the cityscape, dropping two distinct types of pins ('post pins' and 'event pins'). Post pins represent a rodent sighting that a user has posted. Event pins represent an upcoming user-hosted clean-up event. Hovering over existing pins reveals pop menu with a link to learn more about the post or event. Lastly, the landing page contains a profile icon in the right corner to allow seamless access to view or edit user profiles.
User profile button
Pin creation button
Map pins
Precise user location
Other user profile
Post creation button
Location & timestamp
Join, like, and comment
comment buttons
Community page
The Community page of Rat Patrol offers a dynamic, Instagram-inspired feed where users can explore recent rodent sightings and neighborhood events. Each post is geotagged and timestamped. Users can engage by liking and commenting on posts, or dive deeper by clicking on profile pictures to view other users' profiles. A “Join Event” button makes participating in local cleanup efforts quick and accessible. To contribute, users simply tap the plus icon at the bottom-right to create a post or event. Every pin placed on the Map Page has a corresponding entry here, creating a seamless link between visual data and community dialogue.
Order pages
The order section allows users to request rodent trap kits directly through the app. Designed to be simple and frictionless, the flow guides users through a series of pages to input standard order details like their full name, address, and phone number. Once submitted, users receive a confirmation and can access a dedicated order history page to track past and current requests.
REFLECTION & LIMITATIONS
One of the more unexpected challenges during this project was sourcing a customizable, high definition map. While detailed map services exist, many are not easily accessible or require advanced cartographic knowledge. Additionally my knowledge in cartography is very limited. While I’m not a cartographer by trade, creating an intuitive spatial experience meant I had to familiarize myself with some core principles of cartography (like legibility, visual contrast, and balance) in order to finish the project.
As a solution, I used Snazzy Maps, a platform that provides maps styled with a simple JavaScript style array. This gave me the flexibility to customize the aesthetic and functionality of the map to suit the app’s needs. However, I quickly ran into another problem: Figma does not support live zooming within prototypes. To work around this, I had to pre-set the zoom level in Snazzy Maps before importing the map image into Figma. Here are the iterations of the map:
Iteration #1: Low-fidelity, gray scale. I used this version trial and error the right zoom distance
Iteration #2: added gradient borders to block off non-NYC areas.
Iteration #3: Adjusted colors, expanded map to encompass all of NYC.
Final iteration: Added map pins, precise user location button, and warnings for non-NYC areas
Zooming is essential in a location-based experience because it helps users pinpoint exact locations, view street names, and better understand context. Since interactive zoom wasn’t possible, I relied on manual trial and error to find a zoom level that balanced clarity and usability. While the solution worked for my project, in a fully developed product, users would ideally be able to zoom freely and interact with the map in a more dynamic way.
In this project I explored location-based user experience, community-driven design, and visual problem solving in a real world context. I made the most of my tools, and adapted quickly when things didn’t go as planned (like customizing static maps to feel interactive). While there’s many aspects I’d change/evolve in a full production build, this case study reflects how I think through systems, prioritize user empathy, and take initiative on end-to-end design challenges. This project is one example of how I'd turn ideas into usable and purposeful experiences. I’m excited to bring that same energy to a team looking for a proactive, thoughtful designer!