The LÄ Stories project aimed to combat the “danger of the single story” by fostering community storytelling. Collaborating closely with Lindängen, the team developed a treasure-hunting and story-sharing system, where users locate a 3D-printed object in the neighborhood, listen to stories, and contribute their own, enhancing community connections and perceptions of the area.

Challenge

This design case focused on the Lindängen local library and story-sharing by and with children. Mina Sharifiyan, the main stakeholder, said this case was about “the danger of the single story”, in reference to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk. The central idea was to design a system to help people share their personal experiences, enhance feelings of affinity in the community and portray the neighbourhood in a new light.

What we did

For 9 weeks, we worked using several participatory design methods in close collaboration with the Lindängen community. Observations, interviews, workshops, mockups, a “make kit”, sketches and wireframes were all part of the process. The team, together with Lindängen youth and our stakeholders, came up with a prototype of a system mixing treasure-hunting and story-sharing.

How it works

Based on a clue available on the website, users find a 3D-printed object hidden in the neighbourhood which allows them to listen to a story and record a new one.