Booth Buddy : An AI-powered tool to design exhibits that spark community connections
Timeline
8 months
(Jan 2025-Aug 2025)
Hats worn
UX Researcher, Product Designer, Vibe Coder, User Testing
Client
Collaborators
4 designers, Director of the org. & Program manager
Tools Used
Overiew
An AI-powered web tool that empowers Sunday Streets SF exhibitors to design intentional and engaging booth activities aligned with their mission.
Impact
Built a scalable tool for Sunday Streets that reduced approval time by 50% and attracted 40+ new exhibitor sign-ups.
Context
Sunday streets is a recurring slow-streets event organized by Livable City, transforming San Francisco neighborhoods into vibrant community spaces with a mission to help nurture strong community relationships
Who can join : Performers, nonprofits, small businesses, sponsors, city agencies, and community groups are invited to host free activities and showcase their work.
Exhibitor requirement:
All booths must include at least one interactive activity, such as chalk art, hula hoops, giveaways, or free services.
Current Experience
Sunday Streets has long been a cherished tradition for the people of San Francisco, filling neighborhoods with music, movement, and joy. Visitors enjoy free activities throughout the event but often leave without a takeaway, a moment of reflection, or a connection that lasts.
Target Audience
The Challenge
While Sunday Streets draws crowds, many attendees leave without forming lasting connections or discovering something meaningful about their neighborhood.
Exhibitors often rely on low-effort, familiar activities due to limited time, resources, and creative support, leading to repetitive, less engaging setups.
The Goal
Develop a mechanism to promote deeper engagement and longer-term social connections that goes beyond Sunday streets.
The Research
We began by interviewing internal stakeholders to understand the behind the scenes planning of Sunday Streets. Additionally, we also spoke with individuals involved in similar initiatives, to better understand what truly helps communities connect and thrive.
The Insights
These early conversations gave us critical behind-the-scenes insights into how Sunday Streets operates, revealing both the passion and constraints of the team and exhibitors.
Initial concepts
Through these core insights we shaped our design directions with three early concepts and tested them early with Sunday streets team.
CONCEPT 1
A Dashboard to Simplify Exhibitor Management & Event Planning
We designed a dashboard to help the Sunday Streets team manage exhibitor workflows more efficiently. It simplifies approvals, centralizes communication, and reduces back and forth to save time for both organizers and exhibitors.
Why it didn't work
High Cost
Learning Curve
Sundaystreetsvend.com/exhibitorshub
CONCEPT 2
A Co-Creation framework to unlock better experiences for all
We thought engaging exhibitors in co-creation with Sunday streets team would unlock more creative, purpose-driven activities for their booths.
Why it didn't work
Time Consuming
Learning Curve
CONCEPT 3
A Repository of ready-to-use booth activity ideas
We assumed that giving exhibitors a list of intentional activities would help them align better with Sunday Streets’ mission.
Why it didn't work
Not Scalable
Lacked Originality
Sundaystreetsvend.com/exhibitoractivityhub
How might we design a simple, scalable, and low-cost mechanism that helps exhibitors create intentional, mission-aligned activities that foster deeper connections beyond Sunday Streets?
Design principles
We grounded our design principles in the unique context and values of Sunday Streets. Every decision was shaped by the needs of a nonprofit working to build lasting community connections - prioritizing clarity, accessibility, and meaningful engagement at every step.
Our Solution
An AI-powered tool that generates mission-aligned, engaging experiences tailored to your organization and Sunday Streets' unique environment.
Let's Break it down
Step 1 :
Tell us about your organization
Sundaystreetsvend.com/boothbuddy
Step 2 :
Choose what you’re aiming to do through your activity at Sunday Streets.
Step 3 :
Voila! you have a ready to run activity, that’s aligned with your goals and purpose.
Sundaystreetsvend.com/boothbuddy
Developing Booth Buddy
Booth Buddy was built using Lovable, a low-code platform that allowed us to rapidly prototype and iterate. This approach helped us save time and development costs while still delivering a tool that felt responsive and relevant to exhibitors’ needs.
The tool’s backend is powered by the ChatGPT API, allowing it to generate activity ideas that are both personalized and practical. To ensure relevance, we trained the system with Sunday Streets-specific guidelines, such as - exhibitor rules, activity types, constraints, and tone.
Initial Iterations
Initial Iterations
User Testing
To make sure Booth Buddy truly met the needs of exhibitors and the Sunday Streets team, we conducted multiple rounds of informal testing and feedback sessions. These helped us validate assumptions, spot friction points, and improve both usability and relevance.
Real - World Testing in Action
We didn’t just test the interface, we tested the experience.
To bring Booth Buddy to life, we used it ourselves to generate an activity idea: “Draw Your Neighbor.” With no prior exhibitor experience, our team signed up for the Lower Haight Spring Art Walk and followed Booth Buddy’s guidance to set up a street booth.
It was simple, effective, and surprisingly joyful. Strangers sat across from each other, sketching, smiling, and sharing stories, transforming a casual street interaction into a spark of connection.
This experience showed us firsthand how Booth Buddy removes the guesswork, encourages intentional engagement, and makes it easier for anyone to participate meaningfully.
Multiple Entrypoints
We decided on multiple entry points for Booth Buddy to seamlessly integrate into Sunday Streets’ existing ecosystem through event advertisements, Sunday streets website and the exhibitor application process.
Website
Exhibitor Application
Advertisments
Impact
Booth Buddy reduced booth approval time by 50% and attracted 40+ new exhibitor sign-ups resulting in boosted visitor engagement by 30%
As we conclude…
Through this project, I learned the value of designing with intention, impact, and scalability. Taking a holistic approach helped us in creating a solution that not only works for now, but also has the potential to grow and deepen community connection far beyond the event itself.
Thank You
Livable City × CCA’s 6-month journey of learning, collaboration, and exploration. Thank you for the incredible opportunity to work on something so meaningful.
A special thank you to my amazing team for pouring your heart into every step of this project. Your enthusiasm made this experience unforgettable.
