Community Landscape Lab

Engagement Activities

The Design Process

This section shares the engagement activities that were developed and used to engage community members with the design process. It includes informative and fun methods to engage people in different phases of the design process.

The activities are organized by five phases of design: learn, envision, design, evaluate, and implement. Click on the phase to find associated activities.

LEARN

First, we learn as much as we can about each other, about the place we are designing, and about the community’s history and values.

ENVISION

Then, we discuss the community’s goals and preferences. How will this project help them? What will make a project meaningful and successful?

DESIGN

We bring together what we have learned and envisioned into designs – trying out different ideas through the process.

EVALUATE

The community needs to evaluate the pros and cons of proposed designs. What will work? What will not? What might be challenging but worth it?

IMPLEMENT

Once a design is approved by the community, how will it get built? What resources does the community have? What do they need?

Initial Visioning Activity

The Initial Visioning Activity is suited for the first phase of a community engagement project to initiate open communication between the client and designer. This creates a springboard for discovering the client's perspectives, needs, and ultimate desires. Learn more about this activity here.

Aspirations and Avoidance Activity

The Aspirations and Avoidance Activity takes place in early phases of the project, and is centered around a discussion of Desires, Wants, and Needs of the community. Learn more about this activity here.

Hands-On Design Activity

The Hands-On Design Activity gives the community members an opportunity to visually represent their ideas for a site in a hands-on manner. This is designed to help designers understand the community's vision and aesthetic perspectives. Learn more about this activity here.

Interactive Icons Activity

The Interactive Icons Activity aims to replicate the hands-on aspect of traditional design games in an online engagement format. It utilizes representative icons in to quickly gather participants' opinions of design elements, programming, or site experiences in an interactive virtual environment. Learn more about this activity here.

One-to-One Survey Activity

The One-to-One Survey method involves a short questionnaire that is distributed to clients after a public meeting to get their feedback and ensure the proposed design is aligned with their vision. Learn more about this activity here.

Dot Voting Activity

The Dot voting is used to democratically prioritize items or make decisions in a group setting. It is an easy, functional, straightforward way to narrow down alternatives and converge to a set of concepts or ideas. here.

Interactive Polling Activity

The Interactive Polling method allows designers to survey meeting participants and display results in real-time. It allows for a more engaging meeting format while also allowing the presenter to collect important data points regarding participants' preferences on a project. Learn more about this activity here.

Youth-Inclusive Activities

For projects where the main user group is youth, such as playgrounds and parks, it is vital to include this age group in the engagement phase and design process. Involving youth also ensures all community members, regardless of age, have a voice in a project. Learn more about this activity here.

Interactive Poster Activity

It is sometimes helpful to take a directed approach that provides options to choose from and build upon. Participants can pick and choose what features they like and dislike in a “mix and match” fashion. This keeps design limitations in mind as participants are directed to use what is already provided to them, while still holding space for them to add feedback. Learn more about this activity here.

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