This project is hosted on my older website.
For my latest (still-in-progress) work, visit www.karenasmar.com.
Intersection Smart Cities —
CitizenLink
Using LinkNYC as a tool for community building and citizen participation
CHALLENGE with Intersection
How might we reimagine the way citizens interact with and share and receive information on LinkNYC to better engage them with their cities and build stronger communities?
SOLUTION
We proposed a new way LinkNYC can be integrated into citizen's everyday lives and used as a tool for community engagement. The design takes the form of a mobile platform that allows citizens to share posts with their communities [community building] as well as participate in city polls, suggestions or votings. [citizen participation]
CONTEXT
BigCo Studio
Profs. Chad Dickerson & Bradley Horowitz
at Cornell Tech
with Intersection
Feb. ‘19 - May ‘19
The goal of BigCo Studio , a course taught by execs from Google and Etsy, is to learn how to build products at scale and navigate business development to drive strategic initiatives within large companies.
TAGS
Civic Engagement,
Customer Research,
Customer Experience,
Concept & Strategy,
UX / UI Design,
Sketch, Protopie
TEAM
Adrian Sanchez | MBA
Anthony Bisculo | CS
Ian Anderson | MBA
Karen El Asmar | Design
ADVISORY
Summary —
Process*
In our BigCo(Big Company) Studio, my team and I were matched with advisors from Intersection. After matching, as a first step, (1) we researched the business and industry, talked to company stakeholders and gained a better understanding of the company's structure, goals and mission.
After conducting our research on the company, its product and (existing & potential) users, we (2) brainstormed and identified a new opportunity for Intersection to expand its product and achieve its mission. We then (3) prototyped and built an MVP version of our innovative solution.
To achieve this, (4) we participated in scrum, crit and Studio sprints during which our instructors and company advisors provided constructive feedback to accelerate our business development.
At the end of the semester, we (5) presented and demoed our product at Intersection.
Business Goals —
Intersection's Mission*
Intersection's mission is to "enrich people's everday journeys by delivering connectivity, information and content that elevate the urban experience."
Currently, this is done through Link, an ad-supported public Wi-Fi platform that is replacing today traditional payphones.
Through its platforms, Intersection strives to connect: "residents and neighborhoods, people and information, brands and consumers, digital and physical worlds, cities and citizens"...
Key Insights —
Research01 *
FIRST, we took the Links apart, metaphorically.
(1) We met with and interviewed stakeholders, to gain a better understanding of the company, its goals and mission,
(2) immersed ourselves in the city, conducted quick interviews and observed interactions of passersby with the Links, to gain a better understanding of the product and people's engagement with it,
(3) and searched news articles and online posts about LinkNYC and Intersection, to gain a deeper understanding of citizen's perception of the Links in the city.
THIS led us to outline & highlight
key observations about 4 main points...
01
What Links are
Currently USED for
02
How Users Currently
INTERACT with Links
03
How Citizens
PERCEIVE Links
04
What the Current
APP is Used for
Free domestic phone calls,
Free Wi-Fi,
Free USB charging ports,
Advertisements,
Promoting City Services,
Sharing Historical Facts
Displays are solely for public consumption
No way of sharing, interacting, or promoting interactively on Links
Tablets used for phone calls and for quick browsing of nearby places
Fear of surveillance & invasive monitoring. As a result, LinkNYC was vandalized.
Entertaining & a fun addition to streets
Useful & Engaging
Current App has one purpose: to automatically connect users to Links in the city
Has a map that shows available Links nearby
Based on these observations & interviews, we concluded that...
LIMITED URBAN INTERACTION
A widely spread urban infrastructure with limited urban interaction patterns… Beyond the Wi-Fi signal the links put out, the entire connection is one way. Content is displayed on the Links but citizens have no way of interacting with it.
MIXED REACTIONS
Citizens have mixed reactions towards Links and are still in the process of getting used to these platforms and their role in the city.
Our Goal —
Identifying Opportunity02 *
Then we asked...
How might we reimagine the way citizens interact with and share and receive information on LinkNYC to better engage them with their cities and build stronger communities?
Opportunity
During our brainstorming sessions, we came up with several different ideas that targeted different potential users. We then evaluated our suggested proposals and narrowed them down to one core concept.
We envision a future where the Link platform is the
nexus for citizens connecting with their city.
Instead of the current one-way flow of information, Links can be a tool for community engagement, hyper-local content sharing and interacting with the city of the future.
To illustrate this idea, we identified possible users and came up with several scenarios and use cases for how Link platforms could become a large part of citizen’s engagement with their cities.
Concept
After coming up with these scenarios, we realized that they can be reduced to or summarized in two main approaches:
Links as a tool to SHARE [community building]
& as a tool to PARTICIPATE [citizen participation] .
Synthesis —
Design Sprints03 *
After evaluating our direction and its technical constraints, design possibilities and business opportunities, we started building our product.
For our MVP, we focused on the “Sharing” aspect and chose one of our potential users, Lula, a founder of an online handcrafted soap store as our main persona.
MVP Version 1.0
Validate & Iterate —
User Testing04*
After building our initial prototype, we conducted user tests to validate our main direction and design decisions.
Key Findings from User Tests
Pivot & Iterate
Based on our findings, we iterated our design and modified our features. The following section shows a user scenario of using our product.
MVP Final Version
Final MVP —
Scenario05*
Lula owns a small online business of handcrafted soap in Brooklyn. She wonders how she can make more people learn about her products. She downloads thee LinkNYC app and follows the steps provided.
DATE
She easily chooses a date for her post.
INPUT/UPLOAD
She is able to either generate a post based on a template provided or upload her own post and preview it on a Link.
PAYMENT
Her payment bill is based on the dates she chose and the method of her design (upload or template). She can go back and edit either.
NOTIFICATION
Before her post goes live, she receives a notification. She is also notified before her post ends in case she wants to renew it or review and edit before renewing.
LOCATION
Lula logs into the app and is asked to choose Links to post on. She is able to pick Links closest to her based on location or use a Pen tool to do so for a specific region.
CATEGORY
Different categories are provided for her. She chooses the one most suitable for her job and fills up the template that is based on it.
SELECT POST & PREVIEW
She selects one of the template design generated for her and previews it on a Link. She is also able to edit the content and position and color of text if she needs to.
CONFIRMATION
A message shows up and confirms her order.
