WOODRUFF PLACE gardening engagement
Process Document
In the creative sector, as Geke van Dijk mentions “cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing are powerful catalysts of innovation”. —“Service Design”, Wikipedia
Foreword
[What]
DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY In order to maintain existence there must be an initiative towards sustain the environment. There are many ways to do so and by incorporating purposeful design a larger impact can be made.
[Where]
WOODRUFF PLACE Woodruff Place is a historic community recognized as Indianapolis’s first planned residential suburb. It has a beautiful park-like setting, lovely Victorian era homes, esplanades with fountains and statuary, and an ambiance that is unlike any other. Woodruff Place residents strive to sustain, improve, and maintain the neighborhood and its many amenities.
[Why]
GARDENING ENGAGEMENT Incorporating community engagement with gardening promotes an experience of learning, inspiration and growth together. This unique environment of handson creativity in fun projects and a growing community that works together towards sustainability and beauty.
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Generating
[Phase One]
GENERATING AN OPPORTUNITY 5
[Step One]
Finding the Opportunity Area The opportunity area will be the topic of the project. It should be something of interest that has available assets to work with. These assets are combined with a process that serves to transform the opportunity to shape a more meaningful and impactful experience.
Generating
Sustainability Opportunity Sustainability is an interesting topic because there are so many factors that would have to influence a person to work for it. To address that challenge there needed to be a focus on an activity that indirectly influences sustainability and brings people together.
Mind Map Tool To decide on the topic and opportunity area I used mind maps as a tool to write out connections and assets that could be used.
Orange is the opportunity of sustainability, Pink note the topic areas and the spaces to be designed as a service experience.
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[Step Two]
Collecting Data Once the Opportunity Area is decided, data and fieldwork must be conducted to gather the assets necessary to describe the opportunity and all of the pieces that make up the area.
Generating
Cognitive Walkthrough This methodology of fieldwork involves a journey through the opportunity area as a user would. This makes defining the space necessary. I chose Woodruff Place because I had contacts and the space is accessible to be actionable and measurable. I went through the experience of being a residence member of the area and took note of actions and what resources I had to describe sustainability.
Resident Contact This fieldwork is simply meeting with contacts that are a part of the opportunity areas. The contacts I met with had recently participated in testing about soil conditions that would influence the way they garden. I took notes as the community members and myself discussed a few topics about why, how and what they garden. This gave me data about elements that people may share that can lead to sustainability.
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Conceptualizing
[Phase Two]
CONCEPTUALIZING THE IDEA 11
[Step Three]
Defining the Project Based on the Opportunity and the Data Collection there can be analysis and synthesis done that will package the information into a defined project statement.
Conceptualizing
Project Statement How Might We... encourage sustainable practices in an engaged community through gardening? This statement requires knowing about the people gardening in Woodruff Place. The overarching question I wanted to know was what resources they currently use to garden and what they could learn through engaging with others in the community. To answer this question I structured a generative prototyping session that worked to obtain that data. In the session I asked three questions that started by focusing on the topic and the individual and was based on the four seasons that take place. I asked “What tasks do you do each season?” I then compiled the activities they identified and asked “What resources could be used to accomplish these tasks as a community?” Finally, I prompted idea generation by asking, “What ways can we use our resources to improve community engagement?”
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[Step Four]
Prototyping Ideas Generative Prototyping sessions are structured to obtain information through an engaging ideation experience. As a result, data is formatted to transition into information to guide the remaining project.
Conceptualizing
Prototype Data The session yielded answers that surprised even the user and later paved the way towards finding criteria to base the concept on. “What tasks do you do each season?” This question dug up responses that the user does with out even thinking. Synthesis of this data lead to a four season task list. “What resources could be used to accomplish these tasks as a community?” This was a bit harder for the user but identified many of the established resources that are available as well as some community members that share gardening expertise. “What ways can we use our resources to improve community engagement?” This was a fun moment of idea generation that inspired later concepts and ideas.
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Optimizing
[Phase Three]
OPTIMIZING INTO CONCEPTS 17
[Step Five]
Evaluating and Selecting Through analysis and synthesis of the collected data you must decide on criteria from the information.
Optimizing
Analysis From the data I used various forms of matrix to create information. The forms of resources played into concepts that had many levels to decipher. The final analysis broke down the information levels based on audience and seasonal tasks.
Synthesis The two sides of the matrix fit to make a complete system. They both play hand-in-hand to make meaning of the data. The seasonal system gives a defined purpose to each phase of community engagement The audience levels identify the roles of the community members and how they can function together towards sustainability.
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[Step Six]
Planning the Solution This is a unique stage of trial and error that utilizes criteria and structured tools to map the solutions and all of it’s working parts.
Optimizing
The Blue Print The blueprint is a tool that creates an action plan for a concept solution. It navigates various touchpoints, information levels and groups of people to identify a functioning whole.
Seasonal Guide I made the blueprint function as a seasonal planning guide. For each season the purpose and touch points are identified so that a purposeful plan can be revised year after year.
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Spring Project Planning GARDEN PROJECT
Promotion/ Registration
Supplies/ Instruction
Takeaway
Register
Event
Completed Project
Making Project
Instruction
Send Away
Creating Content
Facilitate Event
Document/ Contact
Action Plan Blue Print
The blueprint is a tool to organize the actions at each touchpoint
Optimizing
Summer Garden Maintainance GARDEN TIPS & TRICKS TOUR
Promotion/ Registration
Notes/ Instruction
Takeaway
Register
Tour
Information/ Contact
Promote in Community
Share with Group
Send Away
Organize Event
Plan/ Map
Document/ Contact
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Fall Harvest & Winter Plans GARDEN RECIPE PITCH-IN
Promotion/ Registration
Share/ Socialize
Takeaway
Register
Share with Group
Information/ Contact
Invitation
Share with Group
Send Away
Organize Event
Share with Group
Document/ Contact
Optimizing
Winter Planning and Purchasing GARDEN SWAP MEET
Promotion/ Registration
Swap Materials
Takeaway
Register
Share with Group
Information/ Contact
Promote in Community
Share with Group
Information/ Contact
Organize Event
Share with Group
Document/ Contact
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Implementing
[Phase Four]
IMPLEMENTING THE SOLUTIONS 27
[Step Seven]
Selling the Solution Based on the criteria that was established from the prototyping session’s data you must generate all the parts of a conceptualized system. This system should solve the project statement and e named and branded.
Implementing
Progressive Sharing Through analysis, I identified “sharing” to be the most impactful opportunity to accomplish community engagement through gardening. Sharing would allow every experience level to participate in the solution. The concept that best paired with the sharing opportunity is the idea of “progression”. Just like at a progressive dinner, the user starts at one point and through sharing, socializing and growth ends up having many impactful experiences all packaged in one.
The system would be given to the user in a form of a manual. This application is casual and easy to use. It gives them step by step instructions and resources to getting started as a gardening member of the engaged community. They would utilize the resources for their own benefit while others in the group work to plan events specific to each season’s task.
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[Step Eight]
Implementation Plan The implementation plan is the document that contains well articulated instructions for maintaining the solution. It should have all the information and contact resources necessary for the user to have and use on their own.
Implementing
Action Plan The action plan would be the implementation plan given to the organizers of the solution. This document should contain the evolution of the information and what information is important. It should contain tools like the blueprint that contains examples of the outcomes of the system.
User Manual The user manual should be the tool for the members of the gardening group. It should have less information concerning the details of the systems but rather instruction of why they are an important factor in the system and how to get started.
Implementation There should be an understanding of all the functioning parts of the system. This should allow the organizers to get started towards setting up the solution. This is the most important step towards a gardening engaged community for sustainability.
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WOODRUFF PLACE gardening engagement
“Sharing Progression” Process Document