UrbanShaper - Hackathon Project

Prototype

Prototype

Prototype

Period

Feb 2024

My Focus

  • Project management

  • Design Sprint facilitation

Type

Group hackathon project - Aarhus municipality

Project Links

FigJam board

Personal Summary

This project was an intense but rewarding experience in rapid ideation. With only three days to brainstorm, prototype, and test our concept, we had to work efficiently and make quick decisions. I also had the opportunity to practice my Design Sprint facilitation skills, ensuring that our team stayed focused throughout the process.

One of the highlights was presenting our concept to stakeholders, including representatives from the municipality and business experts. This experience reinforced the importance of clear and persuasive communication. Moreover, working in a large and diverse team was a great learning opportunity. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds and expertise areas exposed me to new perspectives and approaches. It was inspiring to see how our combined knowledge contributed to a stronger final concept.

Period

Feb 2024

My Focus

  • Project management

  • Design Sprint facilitation

Type

Group hackathon project - Aarhus municipality

Project Links

FigJam board

Personal Summary

This project was an intense but rewarding experience in rapid ideation. With only three days to brainstorm, prototype, and test our concept, we had to work efficiently and make quick decisions. I also had the opportunity to practice my Design Sprint facilitation skills, ensuring that our team stayed focused throughout the process.

One of the highlights was presenting our concept to stakeholders, including representatives from the municipality and business experts. This experience reinforced the importance of clear and persuasive communication. Moreover, working in a large and diverse team was a great learning opportunity. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds and expertise areas exposed me to new perspectives and approaches. It was inspiring to see how our combined knowledge contributed to a stronger final concept.

Period

Feb 2024

My Focus

  • Project management

  • Design Sprint facilitation

Type

Group hackathon project - Aarhus municipality

Project Links

FigJam board

Personal Summary

This project was an intense but rewarding experience in rapid ideation. With only three days to brainstorm, prototype, and test our concept, we had to work efficiently and make quick decisions. I also had the opportunity to practice my Design Sprint facilitation skills, ensuring that our team stayed focused throughout the process.

One of the highlights was presenting our concept to stakeholders, including representatives from the municipality and business experts. This experience reinforced the importance of clear and persuasive communication. Moreover, working in a large and diverse team was a great learning opportunity. Collaborating with people from different backgrounds and expertise areas exposed me to new perspectives and approaches. It was inspiring to see how our combined knowledge contributed to a stronger final concept.

Context

A week-long hackathon during which I helped to create a concept for the Aarhus Municipality. I was placed in a group with seven other students from diverse educational backgrounds.

I took on the role of a project manager to facilitate a Design Sprint and enable the whole team to research, develop, and test a concept in approximately, three days. The design of the final solution was a collaborative effort of the whole group.

Problem

How can young people influence urban development in Aarhus?

Aarhus, Denmark is a constantly evolving city. However, not a lot of residents are interested about its urban development, especially the younger generation.

Therefore, we needed to find opportunities and present solutions that would make it attractive for young people to get involved in the city’s development.

Defining the problem

Action

We structured the whole week according to the Design Sprint 2.0 process. I utilized my leadership and project management skills to facilitate each day and keep track of the time frame to make sure we are on schedule.

We applied the Design Thinking mindset while developing the concept. We interviewed the target audience to understand their point of view on the stated problem. Then, we set the goal and defined three sprint questions. I facilitated ideation through, for example, Crazy 8’s and then we prototyped the final design idea in Figma. Lastly, we tested the solution with possible future users to reflect on the outcome of the hackathon.

One of the sketches I drew during ideation


Design inspirations for the solution

Result

The final solution idea consisted of an app, UrbanShaper, and interactive screens. The app’s UX and UI was tailored towards young users to make it appealing and recognizable with other apps they might often use (e.g., Tinder). The interactive screens would then utilize AR technology to help visualize any future urban projects and their impact on the city.

The whole week ended with a sales pitch where we highlighted our process and what benefits will the client gain from our solution. For example, higher engagement, easier way of gathering data, or the app’s adaptability.

Visualization of the interactive screens I made with ChatGPT