Late Night @ UMD

Overview

Late Night @ UMD is a human-centered design project that explores how University of Maryland students navigate campus resources after 9 PM. The project focuses on reducing decision fatigue and confusion during late-night hours by centralizing information and prioritizing clarity, trust, and real-time availability.


This case study combines qualitative research with iterative interface design to demonstrate how thoughtful interaction design can support users during moments of fatigue and stress.

The Problem

UMD students regularly remain on campus late at night for academics, work, and social involvement. While many campus resources exist—such as food options, transportation services, libraries, and safety resources—students often struggle to access them efficiently.

Key challenges include:

  • Information scattered across multiple websites and platforms

  • Interfaces not designed for tired or stressed users

  • Difficulty knowing what resources are available in the moment

As a result, students rely on a small set of familiar options, abandon potentially helpful resources, or give up entirely.

Research & Discovery

To better understand late-night student behavior, I conducted semi-structured interviews with five undergraduate students, including on-campus residents, commuters, and off-campus students.

Key Findings:

  • Students are commonly active on campus between 9 PM and 1 AM

  • Food access is the most urgent late-night need

  • Transportation exists but is often confusing or restrictive

  • Students default to Google or group chats when information is unclear

  • Fatigue amplifies frustration and decision fatigue

A recurring theme across interviews was that clarity matters more than completeness late at night.

Personas

Based on interview data, I developed three personas to represent common late-night user types:

  • The Tired Academic — prioritizes efficiency, clarity, and reassurance while studying late

  • The Social Navigator — seeks food and open spaces after activities

  • The Commuter Planner — values reliable transportation and clear rules

These personas helped guide feature prioritization and interface hierarchy throughout the design process.

Journey Mapping

I mapped a late-night journey for the Tired Academic persona to identify emotional and cognitive breakdowns. The most critical pain points occurred before students accessed a resource, during the search and decision-making phase.

Key insight:

Decision fatigue, not lack of options, is the primary barrier during late-night use.

This insight directly informed a status-first design approach.

Design Solution

Late Night @ UMD is a mobile-first resource hub that shows students what campus resources are available right now after 9 PM. The interface prioritizes speed, clarity, and reassurance by visually highlighting availability and minimizing unnecessary choices.

Core Design Principles:

  • Clarity over completeness

  • Status before description

  • Consistency reduces effort

  • Design for low energy, not ideal conditions

Visual Design Decisions

Dark interface: reduces eye strain during late-night use

  • Green/yellow status indicators: enable quick recognition and align with user feedback to “highlight green if something is available”

  • Rounded cards and large tap targets: support accessibility and reduce cognitive effort

Hey, I'm Madison Hueston ⋆˙⟡♡

I am a student UI/UX Designer, Photographer and Editor.

I am probably making something right now.