How a playground taught me the importance of UX design

There used to be one question I would always be asked. And, lately, it has been the question I ask myself, “Why UX Design?” No matter how many times this happens, I always arrive at the same answer; because everything I see around me could be improved if we only asked each other first.

Over the past year I have moments of self doubt and forget this answer. But time and time again I am reminded why. Most recently I was at my daughters playgroup and we were discussing playgrounds. I live one block from a playground and with no back yard this playground has been my sanity saver hundreds of times. The playgroup leader told me the park nearest to me was to be re-built over the summer. After getting over my initial panic attack because this means a whole summer of zero park nearby and extra car trips to other parks. I asked to see the plans for the new park. The woman showed me the plans and began to tell me what she liked and didn’t like about them. After listening to her and looking at the plans myself I knew immediately no one asked the residents in my neighborhood what they needed in a park.

The first clue is the community garden section. In theory, this is great. Get our hands dirty and plant our own organic fruits and vegetables and bring them home to eat. In reality, in this neighborhood, no one will do this. This community is a mix of people who have lived here for many years and already have their own gardens in their own backyards. Or they are renters who will only live here for a short period of time and don’t have the interest to invest in a garden. And, to be 100% honest, we are lucky if people put their trash inside of the trash can at this park.

The second clue is the tot-lot play structure is to be eliminated. Before I had kids, I didn’t even know there were two kinds of play structures. Now that I have a kid under 2 years old I know how important it is to have age appropriate play structures. When my daughter first learned to walk she of course wanted to play on the play structure. The older kids play structure was way to difficult for her to use and more dangerous. And many kids in the neighborhood use the the tot-lot. Including a local daycare.

The third clue is the community picnic tables will no longer be shaded. Why is this a big deal? Despite the obvious answer, there is an even deeper meaning. Every summer this playground offers a free program for low income residents to drop their children off at the park to play for half the day. Two local teens lead the kids in different games and activities while an adult neighbor supervises. This free resource to the community is invaluable. Otherwise these kids might be sitting at home all alone or wandering around aimlessly. So when the kids need a break from playing in the hot, summer sun their only option is to go to the picnic tables under the shade.

And don’t even get me started about the park being re-done over the summer! Where will the kids go to play?! There is not another play ground within walking distance. Was re-building the playground in the spring and fall when kids are in school even a consideration?

All these things I never knew or thought about until I had a child and I would go to the park and I would observe what was happening. Otherwise, I was just another person driving past the park and wishing I was a kid again. So when I looked at the plans I knew an adult sitting in their cubicle in a big office park drew up these plans for a new playground. They probably did a site visit once to get a lay of the land. But they never thought to ask the residents or the children what they thought or what they needed. They didn’t even take into consideration what this part of Medford needed as opposed to another town. Because it’s not a one size fits all kind of situation.

And that’s what makes me realize time and time again that the UX Designer in me is ALWAYS thinking of these things when maybe the rest of the population is not. And it frustrates me endlessly when I encounter an experience that was never user tested and researched first. So this reminds me why I have to stay in this career. Why I need to be one more person out there actually asking users first about what they need and executing it to the best of my ability.