Adobe MAX Mall Map Project
Overview
Adobe MAX is an annual large-scale creativity conference with hundreds of sessions, sponsor booths, labs, and activations across multiple levels. Attendees rely heavily on physical signage and staff for navigation, which creates congestion and confusion.
I was contracted by EmotionStudios and tasked with designing an interactive event navigation system that:
- Supports multi-level wayfinding
- Connects booths, sessions, and agenda into one ecosystem
- Works seamlessly across kiosk and mobile
- Handles complex edge cases (shared booths, dual categories, session states)
- Remains accessible and scannable in high-traffic environments
This case study focuses on how I designed a scalable navigation system, not just a map UI.
The Problem
Event attendees needed to:
- Find booths quickly
- Understand which category each booth belongs to
- Navigate between levels
- See “Now Happening” vs “Coming Up”
- Scan QR codes for mobile continuation
- Avoid getting lost after inactivity
- Use search under time pressure
Engineering also needed:
- Clear booth logic (some booths shared numbers)
- Consistent highlight rules
- Defined edge cases before implementation
- SVG-ready map components
- Accessible typography and visibility standards
This was not just a UI challenge — it was a systems design challenge.
The Approaches
Designed a Category-Driven Visual System
Established a clear color logic framework to communicate booth categories at a glance: pink for Design, teal for Business, a teal–pink gradient for dual-category booths, grey for inactive rooms, blue for Creative Sponsors, and purple exclusively for registration.
Clear Map State Logic
To prevent implementation inconsistencies, I defined explicit highlight behaviors for every interaction state. By default, all rooms on the selected level are highlighted. When filters are applied, only relevant rooms appear active. Session slide-ins do not trigger highlights until a specific session is selected, and table views never highlight rooms. Reset actions always return users to the kiosk home state. Documenting these rules upfront reduced ambiguity and ensured engineering alignment.
Shared Booth Simplification
Some exhibitors occupied multiple tables but shared identical content (e.g., Adobe Firefly and Adobe Photoshop). Instead of duplicating interface elements, I consolidated each into a single information panel while maintaining accurate physical labeling on the map. This reduced cognitive load for attendees and minimized redundant UI and engineering complexity.
Real-World Visibility Optimization
Because this experience was deployed on large touchscreen kiosks, readability and contrast were critical. I defined minimum typography sizes for room numbers, standardized icon treatments to white-fill only, and used a single grey tone for inactive states. Map dimensions and spacing were optimized for distance viewing, screen brightness variability, and zoom behavior to ensure legibility in high-traffic environments.
Agenda + Map Integration
Rather than isolating scheduling from navigation, I integrated Today’s Agenda directly with the map. Sessions link to spatial locations, slide-ins trigger contextual map feedback, and major events such as keynotes and evening programs connect to their respective venues. Sessions are clearly labeled as “Now Happening” or “Coming Up Next,” while past sessions are visually faded. The agenda auto-refreshes daily to reflect real-time programming.
Mobile Continuation
Attendees can scan a QR code to continue their experience on mobile. The mobile interface mirrors kiosk logic while simplifying visual complexity, increasing tap target sizes, and limiting color usage for clarity. Interactions are optimized for handheld use, ensuring continuity without overwhelming users on smaller screens.
In-Person Touchscreen Validation
Me and my team conducted physical testing to verify color accuracy, brightness levels, QR scan reliability, zoom scaling, button responsiveness, and typography legibility. Testing in real-world lighting conditions ensured the experience performed as intended beyond the design environment.
Final Results
What This System Achieved
✔ Unified booth, session, and agenda into one ecosystem
✔ Reduced cognitive load in a high-density environment
✔ Eliminated ambiguity for engineering
✔ Built scalable map logic reusable for future events
✔ Created a consistent kiosk-to-mobile experience
✔ Handled multi-category and shared-booth complexity elegantly
What I’m Most Proud Of
This project wasn’t about aesthetics — it was about:
- Systems thinking
- Real-world constraints
- State management
- Cross-functional clarity
- Designing for chaos
I transformed a complex physical environment into a structured, scalable interaction system.