Charles Yao 🇸🇬

About

SERVICE EXPERIENCE DESIGNER AND BALLET DANCER

Stepping into a new frontier of user-centric design to transforming customer experiences.

Hi, I’m Charles, and I design for good. For me, good design is a way to arrest the audience, to plant a little aspiration in their hearts, to be eager to turn the page and learn more about the idea, ultimately creating momentous engagements.

In my most recent role as the Principal Designer at Ballet Quarter Singapore, I played a pivotal role in enhancing the school’s image and fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders. Collaborating with the Artistic Director, I provided strategic creative direction, focusing on improving user experience and developed integrated content marketing campaigns. I oversaw visual branding and identity, creating compelling graphic materials to support advertising efforts.

Concurrently, serving as a Grassroots Leader and Treasurer at Geylang Serai Constituency Office with the People’s Association, I managed finances and bridged communities by addressing local issues and render assistance to underrepresented communities, forging multi-racial harmony and social cohesion. These roles allowed me to foster strong stakeholder relationships, enhance brand identity and support community outreach initiatives.

:: Connect with me: Instagram / LinkedIn / email / view résumé ::

STRESS-FREE AIRPORT :: SPATIAL WAYFINDING

The airport experience has become an integral part of every traveller’s journey, the focus on maximising passenger flow often leads to overlooking passenger comfort and ease of navigation. This oversight, coupled with heightened stress levels, can result in travellers getting lost, potentially causing missed flights and significant time loss. 

How might we develop streamlined departure systems to reduce pre-flight anxiousness, thereby enhancing the overall airport experience?

In response to the challenge, my project aims to redefine the airport experience that prioritises passenger comfort and alleviates anxiety through a multi-sensory design approach. I envisioned airports as spaces that not only ensure efficient passenger flow but also promote a sense of calm and well-being, enhancing the travel experience from the moment passengers enter the airport until they board their flights, ensuring that every journey begins on a positive note.

This approach is rooted in service design research, where I analysed passenger behaviour to develop insights. By minimising pre-flight stress, I seek to improve overall customer satisfaction and contribute to a more positive and efficient travelling community, where happier and more relaxed passengers can better navigate their journeys and engage with airport services. Through this project, I aspire to set a new standard in airport design that harmoniously balances efficiency with passenger comfort and well-being.

This final research project has been a remarkable journey filled with ups and downs. It has challenged my critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills, especially when working alone when my teammate did not contribute. Despite these challenges, I’m glad to have explored this topic for my project. Hearing others react positively, with comments like “they need to make it better” and “I think this would be transformational,” made me feel validated and assured that I’m doing something beneficial and meaningful.

At the end of the day, my goal is to always create designs that positively impact and change people’s lives. I see the potential in this project to achieve just that. The positive feedback from the public event, the outstanding visual impressions, and the multi-sensory experience solution quickly spread through word of mouth among industry partners, leading to more inquiries about the project and a desire to see it implemented in real life.