Month: July 2026

One of the most inspiring parts of my research has been discovering how many projects already involve children as active contributors to playground design

The article “Children as Co-Designers” from Playground Research presents several examples where children are invited into the design process long before construction begins. Instead of asking children whether they like a finished playground, designers involve them in workshops, drawing sessions, storytelling activities, model making, and discussions about how they imagine play. These activities allow children to express ideas that adults might never consider.

One thing that stood out to me is that children rarely describe playgrounds in terms of equipment. Adults often ask questions such as “Do you want a bigger slide?” or “Should we add another swing?” Children, however, often talk about experiences. They imagine places for adventure, hiding, climbing, discovering, building, making friends, or inventing stories. This difference shows why simply asking children what equipment they want may not be enough.

Another interesting idea comes from the Design Council’s systemic design approach. The report argues that design problems should not be viewed as isolated objects but as systems involving many stakeholders, relationships, and long-term effects. Playground design is a perfect example of this. Children, parents, municipalities, schools, designers, safety regulations, and local communities all influence the final outcome. If one stakeholder is missing—especially children—the system becomes incomplete.

Rather than interviewing children in a formal way, designers create playful activities that feel like games instead of research. This inspired many of the low-fidelity prototypes I have been developing, where children use cards, stickers, drawings, and playful prompts instead of long verbal explanations.

One important lesson I learned is that participation is not simply asking children for opinions. It is about designing methods that allow them to communicate in ways that feel natural, enjoyable, and appropriate for their age. Good co-design is less about collecting answers and more about creating opportunities for children to share their imagination.

References

Design Council. (2021). Beyond Net Zero: A Systemic Design Approach. https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/fileadmin/uploads/dc/Documents/Beyond%2520Net%2520Zero%2520-%2520A%2520Systemic%2520Design%2520Approach.pdf

Playground Research. (n.d.). Children as Co-Designers. https://playgroundresearch.org/children-as-co-designers/

Playground Research. (n.d.). Playground Research. https://playgroundresearch.org/

IDEO U. (2020). What is Co-Design? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2_6ozX4G_M&t=40s

Participatory Design Foundation. (Video). Participatory Design Process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PDWzPtpCZ8

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As I continued developing the card prototype, I asked myself a simple question:

How do children naturally talk about playgrounds?

The answer is—they often don’t.

Children usually describe experiences rather than designs. They might say “I like climbing trees,” “I want somewhere to hide,” or “Water is fun.” They think through feelings, materials, and play, not through architectural plans.

This observation became the basis of my next prototype.

Instead of asking children to design a playground directly, I created three categories:

• Materials & Elements
• Feelings
• Play

Children can connect these categories in different ways. For example, they might associate water with freedom, or wood with climbing. There are no correct combinations.

This approach is inspired by participatory design, where the role of the designer is not to collect fixed answers but to create tools that support expression.

I also intentionally left empty cards in every category. Children should not be limited by my assumptions. If they think of something I did not include, they can simply create a new card.

In this sense, the cards become less like a survey and more like a shared design language between children and designers.

After creating my three first low-fidelity prototypes, I started comparing them instead of thinking about them as separate ideas. Each prototype focused on a different aspect of participation: materials, emotions, or spatial experiences. However, while reflecting on them, I realized that they all had something in common—they encouraged children to communicate visually instead of relying only on words.

The more I thought about my research question, the more I realized that my goal is not to design a better playground, but to design a better way for children to participate in the design process.

Looking at examples from Playground Research, I noticed that successful co-design projects rarely begin with asking children direct questions like “What playground do you want?” Instead, they provide children with playful tools that help ideas emerge naturally through making, arranging, discussing, and imagining.

This made me reconsider my own prototypes. The first prototype; the card system felt the most flexible. It could easily be expanded, adapted, or combined with other activities. Unlike a questionnaire, it allows children to explore different possibilities without feeling like there is a right or wrong answer.

Rather than designing one perfect activity, I decided to continue developing the card-based approach. It has the potential to become a playful design tool that encourages conversation, creativity, and collaboration.

Instead of collecting answers, I want to create opportunities for children to express ideas that adults might never think of.

References

• Playground Research. (2024). Children as Co-Designers. https://playgroundresearch.org/children-as-co-designers/
• Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign, 4(1), 5–18.

Design & Research 2 | For: Birgit Bachler

Final Prototype Video

Building this really helped me see how much impact interaction design can actually have on a massive, real-world problem. Dealing with the Austrian visa system is usually just a nightmare of heavy cognitive load and confusing legal German, but working through this project showed me how we can systematically break that down.

The main goal of this prototype wasn’t to have a 100% finished product todayit was really just to see if it’s even possible to take a system this complex and push it in a totally new, human-centered direction. I wanted to prove that transparency and good design can exist in government tech.

Obviously, it’s still a work in progress. I’m going to keep polishing it, refining the UI, and making it a lot better moving forward. But for now, this video shows the core vision of what a stress-free Residence Portal could actually look like.

Check out the video below to see it in action

Click here to see the prototype

How many times have bought a plant for their house? How many times have you ended up killing it?

This research is about finding a simple way to help people take better care of their plants—using technology to support us where we usually fail

But the goal isn’t just to add more tech. We’re already surrounded by it.

My goal as an interaction designer is to create something a simple object like a lamp that naturally fits into your home. Something that can also create a cozy athosphere engaged the senses with lights and sounds., tracking the health of the plant.

Because in the future, we would have more technological device. So it’s important to start designing systems that are not only efficient, but also comforting. It’s been proven to indoors plants have a really postivie impact on our mental health.

So this project is not about using tehcnology to keep our plant alive but using it to built a better relationship with the nature itself 

Intro

Following the user testing session, several design improvements were implemented in the product design.

The main objective was to develop a smaller and more ergonomic design that could be placed directly inside a plant pot, while also creating a more playful and aesthetically appealing appearance.

Paper Protyping

The chosen design was inspired by a firefly. This insect was selected because it naturally produces light, making it a fitting inspiration for the LED-based system. At the same time, fireflies are becoming increasingly rare in many parts of the world, creating a link between the project and environmental awareness.

Figure 2 &3: Final prototype design

While the first prototype takes the form of a firefly, the concept can easily be adapted into other nature-inspired shapes, such as a butterfly or a bee, allowing users to choose different aesthetic variations according to their preferences.

Intro

After the development of the functional prototype, the device was brought into the classroom for a user testing session. The objective of the test was twofold:

• to evaluate the functionality of the system
• to collect feedback on the overall design and user experience

Functionality Testing

The first goal was to verify whether the system could reliably measure soil moisture and provide visual feedback through the LEDs.

The results were very positive. During all testing sessions, the system worked correctly and the code performed as expected. The sensor successfully detected changes in soil moisture, while the LEDs updated in real time.

Participants found the color transition easy to understand and appreciated the immediate feedback provided by the light.

Improvements

One important observation emerged during testing: the need to also indicate when the soil becomes excessively wet. Since, overwatering can be as harmful to plants as underwatering.

Design Evaluation

The second objective was to evaluate the physical appearance of the prototype.Participants generally appreciated the visual effect created by the colored light and the lamp-like shape

However, feedback also suggested that the design could become more playful. So, to explore different possibilities, several alternative 3D-printed shapes were produced and tested. These elements could be positioned above the LEDs to create different visual effects and appearances.

Although participants appreciated these variations, the most promising direction identified during the testing phase was a different approach: reducing the size of the sensor itself. A smaller sensor could be integrated directly into the plant pot and designed as an ornamental object rather than a visible technical component.

Conclusion

The user testing session confirmed the reliability of the system. However, the testing also highlighted the need to improve the design of the object by reducing its size and creating a decorative element that could be placed directly inside the plant pot.

Intro

The next step was to develop a functional version of the system, following the design developed during the first paper prototyping phase (see the article Concept and Low-Fi Prototyping).

The device was imagined as a lantern-shaped object containing LED lights capable of changing color according to the moisture level of the soil.

Hardware Component

The prototype was built using the following components:

• Arduino R4 Wi-fi Board
• Soil moisture sensor
• Modulino Pixels LED module
• Power supply
• Wi-Fi network connection

Circuit Setup

The soil moisture sensor (Fig. 1) is connected to:

• Analog pin A0 for reading the sensor value.
• Digital pin 12 for powering the sensor.

The sensor is powered only when a measurement is taken. This prevents it from being continuously powered, which could accelerate electrode corrosion and reduce the sensor’s lifespan. It also helps reduce power consumption. In addition, The Modulino Pixels module (Fig. 2) is connected directly to the Arduino board

Code Structure

Soil Moisture Measurement

Figure 3. Real-time soil moisture reading displayed through the web interface, showing the current humidity percentage and sensor value

LED visualisation

Video 1. LED feedback system setup

Wi-Fi Connection

The device connects to a local Wi-Fi network using the WiFiS3 library. Once connected, it starts a web server and creates a local address using mDNS. This allows users to access the device through a web browser by typing:

http://light-plant.local

without needing to know the device’s IP address.

Digital Interface

A responsive web application was designed to monitor and manage multiple plants. The home screen highlights the plant connected to the moisture sensor, displaying its soil moisture level together with its care requirements, including watering, light exposure, and fertilization. The app also contain an overview of all the connected plants, organized by indoor and outdoor categories, allows users to quickly monitor their status and access more detailed information.

UI Design – Design System

Figure 4. Design system for the digital Interface inlcuding: color palette, typography, icons and basic components

UI Design – Mobile and Desktop Application

Figure 5. Mockups for Mobile and Desktop