In this project I explored why students were not engaging with their local park through qualitative research and collaborative design. Key insights challenged the client’s initial assumptions, leading to a detailed proposal that included a Service Blueprint and a concept app.

Context
Located near Elephant & Castle Station, Lendlease’s Elephant Park is rarely ever visited. The company came to LCC with the hypothesis that if students designed creative attractions to build in the park, it would attract more people. My group’s target demographic was LCC students.
 
Brief
To design an experience for Elephant Park to encourage engagement from LCC students.

COMISSIONED PROJECT  LENDLEASE + LCC UAL
DURATION: March/2019 to April/2019

TEAM  DANIELA NAVAES | GAZBIA SOROUR | JUSTAS BENDARAVICIUS | YU DING
SUPERVISORS  ROSIE ALLEN | EVI KONTOVA 

Research Question
Why aren’t LCC students visiting Elephant Park?
What kind of experiences would encourage LCC students to visit Elephant Park?

Outcomes
The design of a physical space for students.
EXTRA: A service strategy that would actually solve the problem.

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Research Methods Used

We used a range of research methods to gain deep insights into student behaviour and needs. These included semi-structured interviews to gather qualitative data, an empathy map to visualise users’ emotions and pain points, a collaborative design workshop to co-create ideas with participants, and a stakeholders map to understand the influence of different groups.

Process

Initial conversations with students revealed key reasons for their lack of engagement with the local park. To explore potential solutions, we organised and invited students to participate in a collaborative design workshop, where they envisioned their ideal park experiences.

Through this process, the research uncovered in-depth insights into students’ desires, fears, concerns, and aspirations regarding the local park. A crucial finding emerged, proving that the client’s initial assumptions were incorrect.

The final outcome was a physical space designed for students in the park, and also a detailed proposal outlining an effective solution to the client’s challenge. This was presented in the form of a Service Blueprint, as well as a concept app designed for park management.

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