Project Brief
As a collaboration with the City of Long Beach I-Team’s Start-Up Long Beach and Code for America, students were divided into groups by research domain. My group was responsible for researching and interviewing low-income business owners to see what obstacles they face in starting a business in the City of Long Beach. We submitted recommendations to the city on how to address those obstacles. The final concept was to design an analog to digital solution that would make navigating the process of starting a business easier and more efficient. Additionally, our design solution would encourage business owners to operate legally, establish themselves in the community, and grow with the city, regardless of demographic.
Project Acknowledgement
Our research was utilized by Code for America in their creation of BizPort, Long Beach’s new business portal aimed at entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the city. In May of 2016 the project was featured at CSULB Department of Design’s UX Studio Show, CHAD (Community Haptics & Digital Design). Additionally, the project was recognized by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, the Long Beach I-Team, and CSULB faculty at the City of Long Beach Civic Innovation Summit in October of 2016.
Process
Discovery & Analysis, Define & Contextualize, Develop & Focus, Deliver & Implement
Role
Research, Best Practice Diagrams, Interviews, Personas, Journey Mapping, Info Architecture, Game Development,
Portal Content & Presentation
Team Members
Kristal Serrano, Yuri Trujillo & Earvin Tucay
