Role: Research Assistant & Service Designer
Client: VGR / Västra Götalandsregionen
Timeline: Periodic collaboration across 12 months · 2024
Team: PhD Researcher, Röhsska Museum, Form/Design Center, Not Quite Fengersfors
Website: https://www.vgregion.se/f/kulturforvaltningen/samhallsutveckling/gestaltad-livsmiljo/lek-i-staden-i-linnarhult-2021-2025/

Summary

I contributed to a public-sector service design research project exploring how artistic and participatory methods can transform urban spaces into more inclusive, playful, and socially connected environments.

My work focused on research support, co-creation documentation, workshop facilitation support, visual communication, and making project insights accessible through media, graphics, and exhibition material.

Click on the image above to go to the project's webpage.

My Role

Service Design Research

• Supported field research, community engagement, and co-creation activities

• Helped capture insights from workshops, installations, talks, and public interventions

• Contributed to data mapping, synthesis, and documentation of project learnings

• Supported the exploration of how play, art, and participation can strengthen urban recovery

Facilitation & Documentation

• Documented workshops and interventions through photo, video, notes, and transcripts

• Transcribed audio materials from interviews, talks, and research sessions

• Supported storytelling around participant experiences and community needs

• Helped make qualitative research material easier to analyze and communicate

Visual & Exhibition Support

• Created graphic and visual materials for workshops, communication, and exhibition contexts

• Supported exhibition design and presentation of research outcomes

• Helped translate complex project learnings into accessible visual formats for public audiences, researchers, and stakeholders

Challenge

Many urban environments are designed around efficiency, movement, and function, but leave little room for creativity, recovery, play, or social connection.

The project explored how artistic methods and community-led participation could help reactivate public spaces and create stronger emotional connection between people and place.

Approach

I supported the project across three main areas:

Community research and co-creation
Supported workshops and participatory sessions where residents, artists, and stakeholders explored how public spaces could become more inclusive and playful.

Documentation and synthesis
Captured and organized qualitative material through photography, video, notes, transcription, and data mapping to support research analysis.

Visual communication and exhibition support
Created visual assets and helped communicate project learnings through graphics, exhibition material, and accessible storytelling.

Key Work

Service Design Research
Field research · Community engagement · Co-creation workshops · Interviews · Data mapping · Research synthesis support

Documentation
Photo documentation · Video documentation · Audio transcription · Workshop notes · Intervention capture

Visual Communication
Graphic materials · Exhibition support · Research storytelling · Public-facing communication

Participatory Design
Workshop support · Artistic interventions · Community input · Inclusive urban space exploration

Results

• Supported four workshop installations and talks across the year

• Helped document artistic interventions and community co-creation sessions

• Contributed to research material used for exhibitions and stakeholder communication

• Supported the translation of qualitative insights into accessible visual formats

• Helped demonstrate how play and artistic methods can support inclusion, recovery, and social connection in public spaces

Core Skills Demonstrated

Service Design Research · Co-Creation · Community Engagement · Facilitation Support · Qualitative Documentation · Transcription · Visual Communication · Exhibition Support · Data Mapping · Public Sector Design · Stakeholder Collaboration

Takeaway

This project deepened my experience in public-sector service design, participatory research, and arts-based urban development.

I contributed to a multidisciplinary project that explored how art, play, and community participation can create more inclusive public spaces — while strengthening my ability to document, synthesize, and communicate complex qualitative research.