Family Friendly Seoul
Used Methodologies:
➔ Discovery workshops
➔ Rapid ideation workshops (Crazy 8) & Prototyping
➔ Ethnographic observation & Secondary research
➔ Target group and expert Interviews
Aim: The project aims to collaborate with selected Service Designers from London to cultivate a design-led impact and research discipline among Samsung Art and Design Institute designers. The project follows UDC and DDP led focus areas while providing autonomy to explore and define specific research problems.
Role: I led a team of 8 SADI students in cultivating design research skills through the collaborative project initiated by UDC, SADI, and DDP. I equipped them with practical knowledge and application of the research-through-design and double diamond methodologies, fostering a design-led research culture within SADI. This aimed for long-lasting impact on their design practices beyond the project's scope.
Step 1: Problem Finding & Research
Observation and Self-Expression:
To kick off the project, I facilitated a 30-30-30 second location, time, and condition-based observation workshop. This aimed to hone the students' sketching, observation, and detail-thinking skills.
Workshop Activities:
Personal Journey Observation: Students reflected on their morning commute, recording user-friendly and challenging interactions through writing.
Ethnographic Observation: Students visited a food market and hectic streets observing and taking notes on citizen experiences.
Experience Change Over Time: Students considered how these experiences change throughout the day, week, and year.
These initial exercises encouraged close observation and documentation, laying the foundation for the subsequent research phases.
Desk research:
Following the initial observations, the designers embarked on a desk research phase to deepen their understanding of the identified problem areas. This research encompassed three phases:
Past: Exploring previous approaches to similar problems, gaining insights from historical solutions and potential pitfalls.
Present: Investigating ongoing projects within the relevant field, identifying contemporary solutions and emerging trends.
Future: Analyzing future signals that could impact the identified problems and potential solutions, fostering a forward-thinking perspective.
I equipped the team with analysis and mapping techniques, enabling them to compare their observations with the research findings and identify overlapping themes and insights.
Initial Interviews:
To gain deeper insights into the defined problem areas and the lived experiences of citizens, the team conducted initial interviews.
Uncovering user values: Understanding what truly matters to the people affected by the identified problems.
Empathizing with citizen experiences: Immersing themselves in the challenges and opportunities faced by citizens through their own words and perspectives.
Building a systematic understanding: Creating a structured and organized map of the collected information, facilitating analysis and identification of key themes and patterns.
Initial interviews were vital, connecting observations, research, and user experiences to formulate the first "How Might We" question.
Research Findings: Problem Areas
How Might We
make Seoul more inclusive for caregivers and kids by improving their day-out experience?
Research Findings: Solution Testings and Iterations
Our research-based problem-solving approach involved conducting 27 interviews in 15 different locations and “Crazy 8 Brainstorming Activities” with designers and citizens.
Based on observations and reactions gathered from workshops and testing, we sought to create more tangible and applicable interventions in urban areas. Our goal is to enhance the urban experience to be inclusive not just for adults, but for children as well.
Storyboard of the tested Urban Intervention
Interaction 1 - Physical and digital maps gathering children interaction places and highlighting children friendly routes.
Interaction 2- DDP and UDC designed cognitive and motor development supporting children interactions such as games, music and puzzles placed on the children friendly paths.
The visual and the solutions are prepared by the SADI master’s team - The main goal to enhance their research based creative solution thinking.
Final Touchpoints
Values of the final urban intervention design:
Improving a family day-out experience to make Seoul more family-friendly city
Aligning with family needs and values to create a more inclusive and eased experience for both, the kids and caregivers
Improving family experiences and supporting children inclusivity might contribute to increasing the number of child-birth rates in Seoul in the extended term.
