City of Davis Redesign: A Pop-Up Shop Experience
City of Davis Redesign: A Pop-Up Shop Experience
Tag
UX Design and Research
Role
UX Designer, UX Researcher
Year
2024
Revitalizing Downtown Davis for Community Health
Overview
Summary: This project was part of a human-centered design course in my undergraduate studies at UC Davis. The question we were asked was: how can we improve the health of the Davis Community? Our goal was to design an experience that addressed this community need in Davis, and to present the final concept to city representatives.
Responsibilities: Responsible for user research, ideation, wireframing and prototyping. Conducted surveys and user interviews, analyzed community feedback, collaborated on concept development, and presented the final project to the city of Davis.
Problem
We interviewed community members about what health meant to them, and how that affected the community. The central problem we found was highlighted by a passionate resident who is actively involved in the community, and has lived in Davis for over 20 years.
Downtown Davis is limited in non-dining activities and has a high density of chain restaurants, leaving residents with few social or recreational options.
The limited options for entertainment and social interactions contribute to a sense of stagnation and disengagement within the community.
Goals
Develop a versatile, community-oriented space to revitalize downtown Davis and provide new social and recreational options for residents. This would create a healthier downtown Davis community through enhanced community engagement.
Research
Through user research, we uncovered a strong desire for more diverse entertainment and social spaces, especially after regular business hours. We conducted surveys to gauge community interest in alternative downtown offerings, collecting over 200 responses.
Insights:
Research revealed that over 40% of the businesses downtown are restaurants. Residents showed a strong preference for music stores, clothing stores, craft shops, and spaces for activities like fiber arts or arcades.
From a business perspective, local business owners expressed interest in utilizing a shared pop-up space as a low-commitment option to reach more customers.
Our research confirmed a lack of variety downtown, with many respondents seeking alternatives to restaurants and desiring affordable spaces where people could gather and socialize without necessarily spending money.
Design Process
After initial brainstorming sessions and early ideas like a summer movie night, we pivoted to our pop-up shop concept to better meet the diverse interests we identified after realizing our early ideas would not offer enough impact nor variety, which were issues many of the people we interviewed mentioned.
We developed wireframes for the pop-up space, incorporating flexibility to host a range of stores and activities. We also tested interest through posters and online surveys, refining the concept based on feedback.
Solution
The pop-up shop concept was designed as a versatile community space where local businesses could operate temporarily. This rotating setup would keep the experience fresh, encouraging repeat visits and helping address the community’s desire for variety. Proposed locations for the pop-up shop included vacant downtown buildings, which would offer easy access to residents and contribute to the local economy.
Our team presented the project to the city of Davis, receiving positive feedback on the idea’s potential to foster community engagement. The response indicated strong support for expanding social and recreational opportunities downtown, validating our user-centered approach.
Retrospective
This project taught me the value of iterative testing and community-centered design in addressing real-world issues. By continually engaging with Davis residents and adapting our design to their feedback, we developed a concept that felt truly representative of the community’s needs. This initiative aligns with the goals of fostering community engagement, therefore making Davis a healthier community.
City of Davis Redesign: A Pop-Up Shop Experience
Tag
UX Design and Research
Role
UX Designer, UX Researcher
Year
2024
Revitalizing Downtown Davis for Community Health
Overview
Summary: This project was part of a human-centered design course in my undergraduate studies at UC Davis. The question we were asked was: how can we improve the health of the Davis Community? Our goal was to design an experience that addressed this community need in Davis, and to present the final concept to city representatives.
Responsibilities: Responsible for user research, ideation, wireframing and prototyping. Conducted surveys and user interviews, analyzed community feedback, collaborated on concept development, and presented the final project to the city of Davis.
Problem
We interviewed community members about what health meant to them, and how that affected the community. The central problem we found was highlighted by a passionate resident who is actively involved in the community, and has lived in Davis for over 20 years.
Downtown Davis is limited in non-dining activities and has a high density of chain restaurants, leaving residents with few social or recreational options.
The limited options for entertainment and social interactions contribute to a sense of stagnation and disengagement within the community.
Goals
Develop a versatile, community-oriented space to revitalize downtown Davis and provide new social and recreational options for residents. This would create a healthier downtown Davis community through enhanced community engagement.
Research
Through user research, we uncovered a strong desire for more diverse entertainment and social spaces, especially after regular business hours. We conducted surveys to gauge community interest in alternative downtown offerings, collecting over 200 responses.
Insights:
Research revealed that over 40% of the businesses downtown are restaurants. Residents showed a strong preference for music stores, clothing stores, craft shops, and spaces for activities like fiber arts or arcades.
From a business perspective, local business owners expressed interest in utilizing a shared pop-up space as a low-commitment option to reach more customers.
Our research confirmed a lack of variety downtown, with many respondents seeking alternatives to restaurants and desiring affordable spaces where people could gather and socialize without necessarily spending money.
Design Process
After initial brainstorming sessions and early ideas like a summer movie night, we pivoted to our pop-up shop concept to better meet the diverse interests we identified after realizing our early ideas would not offer enough impact nor variety, which were issues many of the people we interviewed mentioned.
We developed wireframes for the pop-up space, incorporating flexibility to host a range of stores and activities. We also tested interest through posters and online surveys, refining the concept based on feedback.
Solution
The pop-up shop concept was designed as a versatile community space where local businesses could operate temporarily. This rotating setup would keep the experience fresh, encouraging repeat visits and helping address the community’s desire for variety. Proposed locations for the pop-up shop included vacant downtown buildings, which would offer easy access to residents and contribute to the local economy.
Our team presented the project to the city of Davis, receiving positive feedback on the idea’s potential to foster community engagement. The response indicated strong support for expanding social and recreational opportunities downtown, validating our user-centered approach.
Retrospective
This project taught me the value of iterative testing and community-centered design in addressing real-world issues. By continually engaging with Davis residents and adapting our design to their feedback, we developed a concept that felt truly representative of the community’s needs. This initiative aligns with the goals of fostering community engagement, therefore making Davis a healthier community.