Design Methodology Entry 5
Narrowing in my focus
At this point in time, I have decided to shift my focus to base the location and content of my project on the Cincinnati Parks system. The biggest element of the problem I want to solve is that of community building and engagement with Cincinnati residents. I want people to find appreciation for the natural spaces around them and the history of those spaces, as well as be more aware of the ways that they can engage with those spaces.
Because of the shift of my focus, I think that my audience is also shifting. As opposed to the kids and parents that I was focusing on before, I now believe that it is important to focus on a broader range of people. Anyone can go to a park. They can be kids and parents, young couples, single people, anyone. Because this is a Cincy Parks based system, I think it would be appropriate to focus on Cincinnati residents. There can be two aspects of my audience. I think primarily it would be people who currently do go the parks. I can engage with those people first. The secondary audience group would be other Cincinnati residents that could be attracted to the parks. This could happen through surface level information that could guide them into the spaces or indirectly through the people who ARE in the parks already.
It is going to be helpful to talk with the board at Cincy parks, but I think that my next step for research and decision making is first to decide what exactly it is that I am trying to accomplish. This means narrowing in on my previous stated goal of engagement and awareness. What exactly do I want people to be aware of? What exactly do I mean by engagement? How exactly am I tying this into my overall project of an exhibit type experience?
Second would be to decide on the parks. I could choose one park and design the system for that park specifically, or I could choose to make it a multi-park experience and think about how that would work if I wanted people to move from place to place either between parks or between spaces in one park.
I have a lot to decide, but I am feeling good about this direction and excited for the potential of what this could become.
