RESEARCH BRIEF

With work and leisure activities becoming much more focused on the absence of physical movement, behavior and habits must be formed and instilled within people in an unintentional way that makes the activity fun and less of a chore.

PROCESS

We explored current design practices and the role of theory that informs and guides the management of the design process. Project management topics include preparation of comprehensive design briefs, strategic mapping of the design process and contingency planning of the project throughout its execution.

OUTCOME

Street Pact is a way for a city, in this case the city of Savannah to encourage physical activity among anyone who walks down the street. At the core of the product lies the idea of fun and often nostalgia.

MY ROLE

I worked with the team as a project planner and coordinator. For the project’s success I contributed my expertise to user research and data synthesis while also taking over the visual design and documentation of the project throughout the process. I worked on the user experience design of the app and created the user interface for the same. I also pushed my team when critical thinking skills were required while providing support and motivation consistently.

The following page highlights a few sections of the project. To view the detailed process, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

RESEARCH

Secondary Research

By looking at what has already been documented, data can be disseminated and analyzed to best understand how the environment is currently behaving and to start locating the user groups needed to begin primary research. This research was focused on the area of physical activity which is broad in scope regarding what is considered physical activity, how it relates to health and happiness, behavior change, and motivations or influence. The team documented this research in the form of ERAS Map, Competitors and Complementors Map, Stakeholder Map and User Journey Map.

ERAS MAP

Physical activities goals and requirements have changed drastically throughout history, and the ERAS map gave us a good account of those tendencies and trends over a long period of time.

Competitor-Complementors Map

The matrices allow for a better understanding of the environment in which physical activity is activated. We were most interested in the passive nature of physical activity which was not too high on the cost scale.

STAKEHOLder map

Visualizing the stakeholders within a systems allows for the creation and focus of finding the users available for further study.

JOURNEY MAP

With the key stakeholders chosen, working towards understanding how their routine fits into the system can be visualized through journey maps.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

It is important to gather the secondary research leading up to this point in order to focus all the energy on the right people and to ask the right questions. This is a key moment in the research that is often cyclical in nature, constantly analyzing and reviewing how the information can be best utilized in the following phases of the process.

Our team not only worked on creating a discussion guide for the interviews but also build two unique activities for the user interviews– “Day in a Life” map and “How do you feel?” collage. These activities helped the team probe the users into giving detailed information about the subject.

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

With all the data collected, the next phase of the project was analyzing and moving towards understanding this data. This process distilled key insights from mass amounts of various data points, finding commonality and underlying themes that suggest solutions to the original problem statement.

KEY INSIGHTS

PERSONAS

Two different personas were built to represent the target audience after building the empathy map while utilizing the insights gained from all of the user testing and secondary research. 

Loner Lira came from key insights regarding fitness habits and needs primarily surrounding of self-motivation and personal tranquility.

Jovial Joseph was built on a playful and energetic nature that was often amplified by social engagement.

CONCEPTUALIZING & USER TESTING

The design criteria makes the process of conceptualization highly focused. A mindset is created from all of the research and now comes the solution building ideas. The team created four concepts to explore further.

Before finalizing the concept there was another cyclical process of testing and reworking. This testing was critical to the success of the product in order to iron out features and fix looming issues that may have been overlooked. 

We setup our prototype in the park and decided to observe if people willingly interacted with it. As the user testing session went on, we spoke to people who performed the activity to gain insights on why they did it, and people who passed by to understand what made them not want to interact with the prototype.

OUTCOME

Street Pact is a way for a city, in this case the city of Savannah to encourage physical activity among anyone who walks down the street. It is a passive way to burn some calories without actively perceiving it as a rigorous workout.

Street Pact does not force anyone to sign-up on the app to use the product, but encourages the users to become a member of the initiative to unlock numerous perks associated with tracking progress and even receiving rewards for participation.

The product is built into the sidewalks across a city. It is integrated into a city’s initiative towards a more healthier and active community. This system would be supported by a mobile app that would not only direct participants to the activities but also track progress and reward them.

With the right placement within the city and partnerships built with businesses, the initiative could spark large scale activity, even pushing people to less frequented areas which ripe for growth.

GAME POSSIBILITIES

Though only a few options were tested, the application of possible games with Street Pact is limitless. Even stringing together various touch points within the area could see people creating large scale obstacle courses across the city block, or even integrating the system into marathons and other city-wide activities.

MOBILE APP

The mobile app is a guide and a resource for participating. Though not mandatory, use of the app will provide the users with better options and allow them to explore the possibilities available through Street Pact.