Overview
A video camera with a microphone and various sand toys on a small pile of sand.

Observational study of parents' breaks

Investigation of a playground as at informal break space for parents and children. With the help of experimental observation methods, children's activities, parental relaxation and their interactions are made visible.

Contents

    Result

    Video documentation

    Shows the entire research process at the Heuried playground from the first field contact to the last intervention. Methods, breaks and irritations remain visible.

    Students who investigate a hypothesis using various design methods and document their findings.

    • playground as a break for parents– The The initial thesis is partially confirmed.
    • Break in attendance– Recovery occurs not only through distance to children, rather through their employment each other.
    • Rational support– Attractions etc Play zones are located in such a way that overview and safety are created.
    • Parental intentions– parents design the Time on the playground active or passive, depending on your own needs.

    Initial situation

    Framework conditions & context

    Research and video project on the topic “Taking a Break”.

    Busy outdoor area of ​​a playground with adults and children playing.
    • Access to break roomsVarious companies were contacted; public and private institutions were difficult or impossible to access.
    • Thesis & research focusAssforption that a public playground can serve as a break room for parents.

    Field access

    Create transparency

    Permission to film was obtained on site and visitors were informed about our presence and cameras.

    A notice attached to a window pane of a student project with the portraits and names of three interaction design students.

    Methods of application

    Interviews

    The conversations show differences between “break with children” and “break from children”. Children are difficult to question, and parents' answers sometimes remain unclear.

    A student interviews a laughing child in the outdoors with a professional video camera and a directional microphone.

    Shadowing

    With a camera mounted on the children's heads, we experience the playground from their perspective. The children show their activities and their world. Their behavior is influenced in part because they are aware that they are being watched.

    A child has an action camera attached to their head to take video footage from their perspective.
    Perspective of a child climbing on a rope playground with a view below of another child.
    From the perspective of a child lying in a net swing with legs outstretched on a playground.

    Cultural rehearsal

    Each child draws a face on a balloon and places it in their favorite spot on the playground. This makes it clear how children develop attachment and protective behavior towards the object.

    Children experiment in the outdoor area at a table with colorful balloons while one child wears a head camera.
    Perspective of a child holding a self-painted balloon near a large wire fence.

    Empathy method

    Parents and children watch videos from each other's perspectives and put themselves in the other person's shoes to comment on behavior and perceptions.

    A student takes scenes outdoors with a tripod camera while a father views the data live on the laptop at a wooden table.
    The perspective of a child lying in a net swing with legs outstretched on the playground.
    Perspective from a playground swing showing a father holding his toddler in his arms.

    Experience Mapping

    The playground is sketched from a bird's eye view, maps for slides, swings and meeting points are placed on the floor plan. This makes the use of space in the area visible from the perspective of parents and children.

    Colored overview map from the playground Heuried with different zones and many small location photos.
    Hands sort small dependency cards on an experience mapping template of the playground.
    Overview of dependent onk cards to playground elements with photos and text reviews.

    Cultural rehearsal

    The children show the plush alien their playground while the designer communicates with them remotely via the robot and observes their interactions.

    A small plush alien that can be placed with a loop for the neck.
    Black and white line drawingnowg my mother at her sewing machine while making the plush aliens.
    Hands of a student making the face of the aliens with ruler and pen at a desk with paper.

    Post production

    Storytelling & Video Production

    Preparation of the project data into at understandable, narrative representation with a storyboard and studio recordings to make the process visible.

    Storyboard in formatted steps with stick figure drawing tools and English text fields.
    Bird's eye view of three students discussing previous findings at a table with design sketches, paper and craft materials.