Exploring the UX of Space
Last week we began a discussion in one of my classes on the UX of spaces, talking about the intent of a design and how people interact with a space. Our assignment was an ethnographic study of a space, detailing the space’s intent, achievements, and flaws. I chose to observe an open space in downtown Denver in between 15th & 16th street near Union Station.
The space is located between two large buildings that contain offices, a Chase bank, restaurants, etc. It is a concrete space with some greenery, one row of benches surrounded by artistic metal posts, and a sidewalk on either side. Cars are not allowed to drive through this space, and it is located next to the very busy 16th Street Mall. It is also only about a mile from part of the CU Denver campus. Within the space, and art installation called Celebration Wild is set up near the 16th St. side. I spent three half hour segments observing the space, and these are my key observations during those times:
Tuesday 10:30–11 AM, 47°F
23 people walked (or biked) through the space
16 people took smoke breaks in the space
3 people interacted with the art installation
There were no specific smells in the area, but I could hear the sounds of nearby construction.
There was no direct sunlight, but when clouds would move, the sun would sometimes bounce off one of the buildings and hit me, providing a little warmth.
Only one of the smokers sat on the benches; the rest either stood or sat on ledges near the sidewalks. The benches were on the opposite side of where most of them congregated.
Some smoke breaks could last as long as ten minutes.
The smokers could either be in groups or stood individually.
There were two trash cans and two cigarette disposal cans, but some people still littered.
Tuesday 4:36–5:06 PM, 52°F
roughly 110 people walked (or biked) through the space
4 people took smoke breaks in the space
6 people interacted with the art installation
There were still no specific smells in the area. The construction sounds had died down.
The benches were hit with direct sunlight at this time.
2 people walked their dogs through the area and let them use the bathroom on the concrete. (They did clean up after them.)
Dogs sniffed the art installation.
One person took a lot of photos of the installation but did not enter the space any further.
One man was sitting on the benches when I arrived and remained there for at least ten minutes.
One man stopped in the middle of the space to try and assist a fallen butterfly.
People enjoy walking through the installation.
Thursday 8:00–8:30AM, 54°F
roughly 160 people walked through the space
4 people took smoke breaks in the space
7 people interacted with the installation
No smells; lots of construction sounds
No one sat
People are in more of a hurry in the morning
After these observations, I’ve developed the following insights:
-The space could potentially benefit from more centralized seating for the smokers.
-Cigarette trash cans by the benches might encourage more people to sit there.
-The amount of greenery in the space is nice.
-An installation in the area does well at drawing people in, but it might draw in more if the installation took up the entire space or had pieces on both ends of the space.
-Doggy trash bags should be provided so people don’t have to bring their own.
