PLEINAIR project: participatory methodologies to validate and integrate product concepts with young users

This contribution describes the final part of the development process of PLEINAIR project, a multidisciplinary research project financed by the POR FESR 2014-2020 program regulated by Emilia Romagna Region, Italy. The PLEINAIR project aims to develop a smart outdoor park, specifically designed for encouraging active lifestyles among different generations. The activities were conducted during the Covid pandemic situation, when the Italian lockdown restrictions in public education were temporally less severe. Two co-design workshops were organized involving two schools in Province of Bologna, Italy, to collaboratively validate and refine the PLEINAIR’s early concept ideas, together with young users. Considering this, the paper describes the entire design process of the two Co-Design activities performed in both schools. The results produced qualitative data that were difficult to collect during the remote activities. They were used as guidelines to improve many aspects of the User Experience of the PLEINAIR’s interconnected system.