The problem

Kankakee Community College relied primarily on static PDF campus maps that were difficult to search, difficult to maintain, and challenging to use for visitors navigating campus destinations.

At the same time, the college was executing a major accessibility initiative tied to WCAG 2.1 AA readiness and broader digital accessibility goals. While a full physical wayfinding modernization effort was planned for 2027, the institution needed a practical interim solution that could improve navigation immediately without significant vendor cost or implementation complexity.

Commercial wayfinding solutions were evaluated, but the institution needed a cost-conscious approach that could be delivered quickly by a small internal team while supporting accessibility objectives.

My role

I led the concept, product direction, accessibility framing, content structure, and front-end implementation for the internal bridge solution. The project developed incrementally over approximately three months while I continued supporting ongoing web governance, accessibility remediation, content management, analytics, and digital strategy responsibilities across the institution.

The work evolved through research, prototyping, coordination with the Accessibility Program Coordination Group, student testing, stakeholder review, and iterative refinements. The goal was to support the college's accessibility program without adding unnecessary vendor cost or creating another hard-to-maintain system for a small team.

The problem with the PDF map model

Decision point

A vendor platform was one possible path. I was approached by Campus3D, and a vendor solution could have provided a more advanced long-term wayfinding product. But given the timing, cost, small-team workload, and planned 2027 physical wayfinding work, a major vendor commitment was not the only reasonable answer.

The solution

I designed and developed a React/Vite campus wayfinding bridge that transformed static map information into a searchable, structured navigation system.

The solution combined interactive map navigation, directory-based browsing, accessibility-informed content structure, and maintainable data management workflows. Administrative editing tools were included to support ongoing campus changes through JSON and CSV import/export workflows, allowing future updates without rebuilding the application.

The system was intentionally designed as a bridge solution that could serve the college until larger campus wayfinding improvements are implemented.

The popup content became the accessibility layer

Each marker was designed as a structured wayfinding record, not just a dot on a map. For example, a building entrance popup can explain the closest general parking, closest accessible parking, the recommended route from nearby lots, which entrance to use, where elevators and restrooms are located, how room ranges work by floor, and which student services are available in the building.

That content matters because it gives users plain-language guidance that a static map image cannot easily provide. The map became more than a visual reference. It became a readable, searchable, maintainable layer of campus navigation information.

Maintainable map management workflow

Maintainability was a key part of the solution. The map can be updated when room locations, services, entrances, or map images change. On the editing side, markers can be clicked or dragged into position, and each location can be edited through a feature editor tied to the directory.

The system can save and export the location data as JSON or CSV so the information can be updated, imported, exported, and integrated into the main website by the web developer. This reduced the risk of creating a fragile one-off prototype and made the project more realistic for a small team to support.

Research, testing, and iteration

I reviewed how other accessibility-focused community colleges handled campus map access and wayfinding information. That helped confirm that the map needed to be easy to find, not just easier to use. One recommendation was to add a direct Campus Map link in the global footer so the tool is reachable from every page of the main site.

I also tested the prototype with five students and reviewed it with stakeholders connected to accessibility, facilities, web, and campus operations. Feedback helped validate the direction and led to practical refinements around interface behavior, labels, guidance, and location content.

Results

Student testing with five students, stakeholder review sessions, Accessibility Program Coordination Group feedback, and iterative refinements informed the final experience. The resulting system achieved Lighthouse scores of 100 across all categories and was reviewed against WCAG 2.1 AA expectations using keyboard testing and WAVE accessibility evaluation.

I treated automated tools as screening tools, not as the only measure of accessibility. The more important improvement was architectural: moving campus wayfinding information out of static PDFs and into searchable content, structured destination records, visible text alternatives, keyboard-aware patterns, and maintainable data.

Outcomes

The project created a tested, internally maintainable campus wayfinding bridge that supports KCC’s accessibility program while reducing dependence on static PDF maps. It also avoided a premature vendor commitment during a period when the college needed a practical solution quickly and had longer-term physical wayfinding work planned for 2027.

• Reduced reliance on static PDF-only campus navigation
• Created searchable campus destinations and services
• Added keyboard-aware navigation patterns and visible guidance
• Established a maintainable JSON/CSV content management process
• Protected small-team capacity during a heavy accessibility workload
• Created a bridge solution supporting campus navigation until 2027 wayfinding improvements

Next improvements

After launch, the strongest next step is to watch how users search, where they get stuck, and which destinations matter most. Future improvements could include additional usability testing, screen reader review with real users, analytics on searches and failed searches, continued room/location cleanup with building managers, and refinements after the 2027 physical wayfinding work.