A collaborative research community focused on
design leadership + design thinking

Opportunity // Gain insight of stakeholder service experiences
at Hawthorne Community Center through participatory design research.
Provide actionable solutions that respond to the needs of people
at Hawthorne Community Center.

Context // A community based multi-service center providing
support to working families, English as a second language speakers,
homeless and soon to be homeless, youth, senior citizens.

>>> download Project Introduction
>>> download Research on ESL services
>>> download Research on Family services
>>> download Research on Seniors services
>>> download Research on Homeless services
>>> download Research on Youth services

I N T R O D U C T I O N
Hawthorne Community Center has served the Near West side residents as a multi-service center for over 80 years. Hawthorne’s programs have continuously evolved to meet the emerging needs from within the community. In 2007, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) adopted a new strategic plan to realign programs and resources in a way that promotes neighborhood-led comprehensive community development. Comprehensive community development addresses neighborhood life as a whole.
It understands that neighborhoods are more than housing units, and that their needs
are critical to lasting, positive neighborhood transformation.

Supporting the comprehensive community development strategy, researchers applied participatory design research methods and developed a series of engagement tools that enabled Hawthorne Community Center members to participate in a people-centered design process. The process of design research aims to develop an understanding of the Hawthorne users’ experiences and provide actionable insights for identified opportunity areas.

For this project, we adopted participatory design research methods to understand the current user experience of Hawthorne clients and to provide actionable insights for identified opportunity areas. Our course approached design research from
a people-centered perspective, in that we believe people to be the experts of their own experiences and have the most authority to articulate these experiences. By looking deeply at the lives of individuals, opportunities to meet their needs and desires can be uncovered. We also used participatory design research methods in collaborating with people as apt co-designers in creating their ideal experiences within opportunity areas.

As researchers, we are responsible for developing research methods that elicit people’s articulation about their current experiences and engage them in identifying ideal experiences. Different groups of people require different methods to capture their reality. For instance, tools can be designed that only use visual images to overcome language barriers.

Collaborators // Hawthorn Hawthorne Community Center stakeholders
including clients, staff and supporters
Neighborhood community development members
Graduate Design Researchers: Stephanie Adams, Gunjan Ahlawat , J Brian Crain, Brandon Cockrum, Anna-Maria d’Ambrosio, Nada Jaffal, Vinay Kashyap, Yiwen Mu, Juhi Singh, Brandon Stuck , Terri Wada
Research Advisor Associate Professor Young Bok Hong
Assistant Research Advisor Adrienne Dye

_________________________________
We extend our many thanks and deepest gratitude to the wonderful and supportive people of Hawthorne Community Center.
The staff and clients provided a rich, engaging and open setting for us to research the current user experience at Hawthorne. We hope this research and resulting design opportunities prove valuable in informing the creation of the next Hawthorne Center. This document is a testament to the lives and achievements of
the entire Hawthorne community.