The design ethnography week at L’École de design Nantes Atlantique gave us the opportunity to learn and practice ethnography in a design context. Our group chose to work in Le Passage Pommeraye —a historic covered street best known for its traditional shops— in Nantes, France. We used contextual interviews, shadowing and culture hunt methods to gather meaningful stories, information and tips about the place.
Based on these insights our design proposition resulted in an alternative use of this street: a cultural agenda on the stairs showcasing the city movie theaters, opera and concert hall program. With this new urban tool, citizens could explore, compare and select great events to plan their weekend. To analyze and share our research materials, we used information visualization tools and looked for common themes in what people reported.