Documentation of User Experience augmentation of Stuyvesant Cove Park, Manhattan, NY.
The client wanted to increase the accessibility of the Stuyvesant Cove park (StuyCove park). StuyCove park is approximately 2 acre big public park on the East Side of Manhattan, New York. It is located in a highly residential area and provides natural resources and resting area to the park’s user community.
Examining the problem space
The problem our client had was that “Urban communities suffer from a lack of connection to both the natural world and to one another.” After meeting with our clients, we were able to understand the specific problems the park was facing and start exploring and identifying the problem statements. The two “how might we…” questions were raised.
- How might we augment the accessibility of the park’s public facilities.
- How might we develop a foraging culture for various users of the park.
USER RESEARCH: INTERVIEWS
We conducted a number of the park’s associates to better understand the scope of the various users of the park.
“(The most frustrating thing is) the general disrespect for the park.” — Ceasar, Park Maintenance
“Kids who live in the city don’t get to learn from nature.” — Wendy, Park Volunteer
USER RESEARCH: ARCHETYPES
Based from the information we gathered through research, we started with identifying the user archetypes and key focus of their relationship to the park.
USER RESEARCH: BEHAVIORAL & ATTITUDIANL LANDSCAPE
In order to better understand the specifics of the user archetypes, a color coded Behavioral and Attitudinal landscape was mapped out
USER RESEARCH: PERSONAS
Based on the archetypes and project focus, 6 personas, 3 for way finding project and 3 for the foraging project, were created. Each persona focuses on accurately depicting who the user might be, what inspires them, what they want, and what their relationship to the topic is.
USER FLOWS
Each user flow was made to map out what actions users will be able to make during their experience of wayfinding and foraging.
