Case Study
Overview
CicLAvia transforms Los Angeles streets into car-free community spaces, encouraging walking, cycling, and social connections. I led the creation of a Partner Hub Guide to help event partners design more engaging booths, improving interactions between organizations and attendees.
Product Strategy
UX/Content Desig
Booth interactions at past events felt transactional—limited by quick handouts or superficial conversations. Partners struggled to attract and retain attendees’ attention, and their booth setups often lacked strong visual appeal. Furthermore, many partners found it challenging to tailor interactions to the diverse communities participating in CicLAvia.
Objective
Develop a comprehensive, human-centered toolkit that helps CicLAvia partners:
Create visually appealing booths
Initiate meaningful, inclusive conversations
Reflect community values and diversity
Align with CicLAvia’s mission of sustainability and community empowerment
Observations: Attended live CicLAvia events to watch booth setups and interactions.
Targeted Feedback: Conducted surveys and brief interviews to understand partners’ and attendees’ main pain points around engagement.
Comparative Review: Analyzed successful booths and identified common factors that encouraged attendee participation.
Engagement Challenges
Booth operators struggled with starting meaningful conversations and lacked visual elements that attract attendees.
Frustrations
Limited time and funding for booths, difficulty navigating city regulations, and transactional interactions with attendees.
Opportunities
Partners expressed a desire for better access to demographic data and to create connected, human-centered booth experiences.
"Our goal at Designing in Color, in collaboration with CicLAvia, was to create more engaging human experiences. We wanted to shift away from transactional interactions and foster genuine connections."
Visual Hierarchy & Layout: Step-by-step checklists and mockups to help partners create an inviting space.
Decoration Strategies: Creative yet low-cost approaches (e.g., local art, interactive display boards) that resonate with local culture.
Engagement Tools
Conversation Starters: Practical tips on asking open-ended questions (e.g., “What does community mean to you?”) and active listening techniques.
Inclusive Messaging: Sample signage and messaging ideas that reflect neighborhood diversity.
Sustainability Practices
Recyclable Materials: Guidance on sourcing eco-friendly decor.
Waste Reduction: Simple ways to manage giveaways or printed materials responsibly.
Visual Templates & Infographics
Ready-to-use templates for booth signage, offering a polished and consistent look.
Eye-catching infographics that educate attendees and spark conversations about each partner’s mission.
🎨 Decoration Strategies: Provided partners with creative ideas to decorate their booths, making them more inviting and reflective of the community.
💬 Conversation Starter Tips: Shared effective techniques for initiating and maintaining engaging conversations with attendees, fostering deeper connections.
Real-Time Feedback: We monitored foot traffic and engagement at selected CicLAvia events where partners tested the revised booth layouts and conversation strategies.
Iterative Improvements: Short post-event surveys captured insights from both attendees and booth operators, informing quick tweaks to signage, layout flow, or conversation prompts.
Results
Higher Foot Traffic: Booths using the toolkit reported up to a 30% increase in visitors, with more participants staying to chat.
Deeper Engagement: Partners noted a shift from purely transactional interactions (e.g., “take this flyer”) to more meaningful connections (“tell us about your community experiences”).
Toolkit Adoption: CicLAvia integrated the Partner Hub Guide as an essential resource, encouraging future participants to leverage the best practices outlined.
