Challenge

This project was funded by DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) to support academic exchange between Design Akademie Berlin (DAB) and Académie Libanaise of the Beaux- Arts (ALBA). The cooperation aimed to improve the current living conditions and quality of life in the refugee camp of Al-Yasmine. Three strategic designers (including me) lead an intensive eleven-day Design Thinking workshop with the goal to develop ideas and strategies to turn an empty spot of the camp into a social space.

Design of qualitative research tools

In order to conduct field research in Al-Yasmine camp, our team gathered to create qualitative research tools. These tools were addressing a wide range of potential target groups. Our aim was to understand user needs, identified potential opportunity fields and get an overview of the living condition of the refugee population at the camp.

Some of the tools we created were cultural probes, interview guidelines, and customer journeys. The tools were designed mainly to collect qualitative information. For example, I participated in actively designing the tool for the children between 8 and 11 years old. The tool was called treasure hunt and consisted in collecting different treasures along the camp. Every station allowed us to understand the space, identified where children were playing or how do they feel in their shelter. Furthermore, the tool allowed us to overcome the language barrier, be more emphatic and discover how children build social relations with others in the camp.

Field Research

We traveled from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley to conduct eld
research.
The rst day was about building connections with the people at
the camp. We introduce ourselves and the project. We spend time
with the families and shared experiences with them. We were
invited to their shelters to drink tea and eat bread. We played with
the children and get our rst understanding of the actual situation.
The second day we were able to scope our investigation and we
implemented the research material. We decided to approach
specic people at the camp. We started to collect stories, feelings,
and impressions of the users that openly decided to share with us
their situation.
During these two days, we were allowed to experience what is it
to live in a refugee camp. We step out of our shoes and walk in the
shoes of a refugee. We brought empathy to our project by carefully listening to our users, we learned from them and their reality.

Results

We wanted to create overall community building experience for the inhabitants of Al-Yasmine camp through human-centered design. Our vision was to improve the quality of life for displaced people through building up a sense of belonging and strengthening their esteem needs.

We created a space that was divided into three sections: The productive garden, the learning area, and the recreational area. Moreover, we developed an identity and several communication artefacts to activate the space.

The concept includes a participatory approach in which residents of the camp (refugees) are encouraged to participate in the construction process. This approach creates an appropriation of the space that assures a sustainable development of the idea.

The idea was pitched by the lead strategic designers to the German ambassador in Lebanon and local investors that have the interest to push the project forward.