Overview
Our team collaborated with the Executive Director of the Bloomington Area Arts Council and the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (BEAD) to create a design plan; addressing interaction techniques that will improve the current methods of downtown education. With the intention to increase community activity in the downtown district and spur economic development.
Process
Cultural Probes
To explore the design space and to capture people's experiences we used cultural probes. Eight cultural probe packs were distributed to a set of participants, representing the demographics of the city. The amount of quantitative data available and the qualitative data from our cultural probes painted a rich picture of residents attitudes towards downtown.
Insights
After sorting through the maps, photocards, and photographs, differentiated views and insights between demographic groups emerged. These insights were synthesized by our group and revealed opportunitiy areas for design. Our concepts were organized into four themes related to the downtown experience: travel, navigation, engagement, and extension.
Design
Concept System Ideas
From our insights, our team brainstormed and came up with a large amount of concepts that were further grouped. We then filtered our concepts to a select few. Some concept systems highlighted are:
1) Location Aware Services
Based on your location, a user can get real time updates and recommendations of events and destinations delivered to a mobile device. With this service you can also let friends and family know where you are, find people with common interests around you, and rate your experiences.
2) Interactive City Maps
Provides city dwellers access to popular destinations, travel information, and recommendation places from locals and previous visitors. The information may be powered by a web mapping service application, Google Maps, in combination with an online urban city guide such as Yelp.
3) Visual Walkways
Providing a difference in color between a walkway and adjacent surfaces serves as a guide to people to cultural and functional areas such as courtyards and plazas. A color contrast, along sidewalks and walkways should be used consistently to delineate routes throughout the entire city.