Highlights
My Role: Physical UX/UI Designer & Field Researcher (collaborated in a 4-person team).
The Core Challenge: Shifting our focus from a simple, one-time cleanup event into a sustainable “park-as-a-zoo” passport adventure, and figure out how to center all our chaotic brainstorming into a single, clear experience for kids.
Tools & Methods: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, physical prototyping (foam core mockups), expert Interviews (Shedd Aquarium, Urban Rivers), observational Field Research, and service design.
Connecting Kids to Nature
A hands-on environmental adventure designed to turn local parks into interactive wildlife discoveries for families. Complete with physical activity passports for tracking texture rubbings and learning how to protect urban ecosystems.
What I’m solving
Local Chicago urban life is facing severe, negative health impacts due to widespread trash and litter in community green spaces.
Goal
- Use the natural curiosity and deep empathy kids have for animals to teach them why protecting local ecosystems matters.
- Replace boring lectures with a self-guided “park-as-a-zoo” passport adventure where kids actively hunt for local urban animals and collect mascot stamps.
- Encourage families to get out of the house and physically explore local parks, transforming the way people coexist with urban city animals.
Research Methods
Observational Research
Checked Horner Park to read current signs and joined a cleanup with my little brother to observe his excitement throughout it.
Expert Interviews
Talked directly to Cleanup Club Chicago, Urban Rivers, and Shedd Aquarium to understand how litter affects urban animals.
Article Research & Inspiration
Read through professional articles and looked at real-world environmental campaigns to observe how others spread awareness.
Research Images
Process
We originally planned a storytelling scavenger hunt where a specific path of signs would guide families through the park. But when we looked closer at Horner Park, we hit a major roadblock: the park has four different entrances! If a family started at entrance three, our entire story would be completely out of order and make zero sense.
Throughout constant creative workshops to test our designs, we decided to create a passport and signage to get the full experience!
Final
Since standard park cleanups won’t keep kids engaged for long, we turned it into an open-world experience. We created a quick Google request form so families can easily grab cleanup supplies whenever they want. Then, kids use a physical park passport to read facts, track their progress on having stamps on the signage.
Reflection
The Challenge:
With the amount of ideas the four of us had, it was honestly difficult to decide which pathway to go. We had all these great concepts but lacked a clear focus on how to explain our work to others, leaving us at a standstill where we just kept creating design templates and re-editing them over and over.
Pivot Point:
The turning point came when we all sat down as a team and realized what we actually cared was our love for the animals and making sure kids would be engaged by them while not being bored.
One of my teammates mentioned treating the park like a zoo, and it completely clicked for all of us. It helped us break our design block and build the mascot and passport system. Next time, I’ll make sure to talk with one another openly with my team much earlier in the process!
Future Iterations:
If we had more time, I would’ve ask my little brother to try out the signage stamps and the passport to improve them more.