Optimal Reality

Bringing live transport operations and possible futures into one shared decision-making view.

Project story

I helped shape the Optimal Reality proposition and pitch, then carried that vision into its first Situation Awareness application for a major Australian transport organisation.

I led the visual and interaction direction for an operational view connecting networks, incidents and possible futures. As delivery grew, I guided designers and kept UX, UI and engineering aligned.

Shaping the proposition

We tested the proposition across seven priority use cases, defining the decisions, states and controls each role needed before moving into production.

Optimal Reality route planning and operational watchlist interfaces displayed across a large monitor and laptop.
A field of iPad interfaces showing maps, routes, operational details and controls across different Optimal Reality scenarios.
Optimal Reality future-state interfaces displayed on a large curved monitor and a laptop, combining maps, incidents and network performance.

Building with Atomic Design

I used Atomic Design to build the interface from foundational styles into reusable components and patterns. It gave the expanding application a consistent logic, instead of resolving every screen in isolation.

Optimal Reality building blocks showing typography, colour, map treatments, markers, device states and location components.

Designing the map as an interface

The design system extended into the map. In Mapbox Studio, I shaped a spatial language for roads, labels, routes and overlays across zoom levels, then used Kepler.gl and deck.gl to test legible 3D and data-rich views.

Mapbox Studio exploration of a dark lane-level map style, showing route colours, line widths, patterns and zoom behaviour.
Mapbox Studio view of a custom dark Melbourne basemap with restrained roads, labels, buildings, water and landmarks.
Kepler.gl spatial exploration showing layered tram routes and data controls across a three-dimensional map of Melbourne.

Scaling across roles and screens

I translated that logic into reusable components across tasks, roles and screens, giving UX, UI and engineering a shared structure for extending the product.

A tall inventory of Optimal Reality navigation, controls, forms, panels and operational interface components on a dark canvas.

Prototyping the whole experience

Before implementation, I connected high-fidelity states, transitions and behavioural rules into an interactive model of complete operational journeys.

A wide Figma prototype map with many Optimal Reality screens connected by dense interaction paths.

Bringing Situation Awareness together

The proposition, design system, spatial language and connected flows came together in the first Situation Awareness application. The 360° case study shows operators exploring live network conditions, incidents and operational detail across the interface.

In six months, we shaped seven priority use cases into a coherent, testable application and a reusable design foundation for continued delivery.

A little reminder

This keepsake from the Optimal Reality team still means a lot to me. I am grateful for the trust, the care and all the honest challenges that made the work better.

Optimal Reality was a team effort. I am proud of what we shaped together, and thankful it gave others a strong foundation to build on.

The Optimal Reality team keepsake presented to Kevin To, standing on a timber sideboard beside a plant, keys and a charging cable.

From foundation to offering

That foundation continued beyond the initial Situation Awareness application, growing into a broader Deloitte Australia offering for live decision and simulation systems across transport, energy, utilities and other complex physical networks.