Card Sort Analysis

The above is a depiction of the cards we used for our card sort, in which we had people unaware of our project's intentions look at the features, design attributes, and functions and sort them based on any classification system they thought was most relevant. Based on the results of those sortings, there were several trends that influenced our design concepts.

Most people tended to sort the cards by relating the things they were most familiar with. The pairing between mini-games and phone camera apps was the most common connection, but those two cards were also closely related to touche screen interaction, as most phones with apps use touch screen functionality. People had a much harder time associating the rest of the cards, as they don't seem immediately to have many connections. There were several pairings of 5th Street Bridge with "nooks and crannies," most probably because of the spatial relation they share. Nooks and crannies were also grouped with hidden tags, because the idea of nooks and crannies seemed to evoke the idea of hiding things for most people. These two items were also tied to scavenger hunts in the same way, evoking the idea of hide-and-seek. The two cards most people weren't sure what to do with were Coupon and Fact. These didn't seem to relate to any of the other ideas very well for most people.

This inability to fit in two major components of our design brought to light some questions about our plan of implementation. Would people be interested in finding things such as coupons and facts about the bridge or surrounding areas since they didn't seem to relate the ideas on their own? We had already spent a great deal of time considering what types of items to "hide" for our scavenger hunt idea, and our three main ideas were mini-games, coupons for local businesses and facts about the space. Some alterations to our idea included the following:
-Instead of just hiding coupons in the space, we could use them as prizes or incentives for playing mini-games. This way, users would have to play the mini-games (the most popular part of our idea) in order to win the prizes: coupons for local participating businesses.
-Even though the facts about the space seemed to be a disconnect for many people, we feel that allowing people to learn about the history of the space they are exploring it in the present will help make the bridge itself into a more important place. Giving it context with its historical background and information about it's construction would, we feel, help connect people to the space.

Activity Analysis

• transporting themselves
• walking
  
• getting on/off Tech Trolley
• en route to class
• en route to leisure activities
  
• going to Tech Square
• grabbing a quick lunch
• going to the bookstore
• getting a coffee from Starbucks
• waiting for someone to come pick them up (meeting location)
• enjoy greenspace (only on days with good weather)
  
• sunbathe
• do homework
• relax
• play frisbee
  
• enjoy lunch on the grass
• walk a doggie
  
• tailgate
• grill
• meeting location
• leisure activities
  
• during good weather people eat lunch on the bridge ( mostly people sit on the concrete tiers)
• in-between area for Greek life
• many fraternities are located on the west side of the bridge
• in-between for leisure activities
• nail salon
• restaurant
• one even has hookah
  
• ice-cream parlor
  

Behavioral Mapping

Experienced / Observed Behavior

A vast majority of people who were on the 5th Street Bridge were merely walking from one end to the other. Only on days that the weather is really nice, do people stop to sit on the grass or benches. Very few people stopped en route between classes, and seemed very stressed in their hurried pace. The walkways are the most frequented areas, with the open green space on the north side being the most popular leisure spot.

Major markers might best be located in areas easily visible from the sidewalks, with more subtle ones hidden from view, so as to promote further exploration and investigation of the space. Since we are developing for a very wide-open space, we should take advantage of the fact that tags can be seen easily from almost anywhere.

Our biggest hotspots will probably be the benches on each side of the road, since people likely won't even be using their cellphones for running our AR application unless they are already sitting down.

Generalized Behavior Maps

As can be seen on the map of people moving through the space, the bridge is largely a transitional space. People using the bridge are typically driving or walking across it. People are also often waiting at one of the Tech Trolley stops on either side of the bridge.


On one side of the bridge is a very large, open green space. Most people who use this space play games with friends, such as frisbee. Other people bring their dogs with them to play, or just hang out in the space.


The opposite side of the bridge is another green space, but it has much more landscaping than open grass. There is a trellis above a bench that runs along the length of the bridge. Most people use the space for recreational activities including napping, taking photos (engagement photos, for instance), reading, sitting, or sunbathing. This space on the bridge is also visually stunning, with terraced landscaping full of trees, bushes, flowering plants and grass. The structure of the space creates many nooks and hidden spaces that are perfect for hiding small things (like AR tags).



All of the interesting, "hidden" locations within the space created by the landscaping and design would be perfect places for implanting tags that people could search for. This would encourage the type of navigation through the installation we desire: a hunt for hidden "easter egg"-like tags hidden throughout the space in places you may not even know about just from walking through the area.