UX Research & Concept Design
Pune · Maharashtra · India

Reviving
Heritage.

Pune's heartbeat, etched in stone and wood and slowly fading from the public's everyday memory.

At a glance

Pune's Wadas ancestral courtyard mansions from the Maratha Peshwa era are quietly disappearing in plain sight.

74%
have visited a Wada — but mostly only once
67%
call preservation "extremely important"
15+
in-person interviews across three field visits
3
concepts developed; 1 hero solution shortlisted
01 · The Brief

Why
Wadas?

During pilot research across Maharashtra's heritage sites, we noticed a clear imbalance. Temples thrive institutionally maintained, ritually attended.

So we picked the underdog. Not because they're prettier, but because they're the most at-risk and the least understood.

Three reasons we chose Wadas
  • 01Hidden in plain sight. Entrances are unmarked, often shared with shops or homes.
  • 02No institutional patron. Unlike forts (UNESCO) or temples (trusts), Wadas have no dedicated preservation body.
  • 03A living typology, not a ruin. Many Wadas still house families, shops, or offices.
02 · Process

Double Diamond,
walked twice.

We structured our work along the four stages of the Double Diamond.

01 · DISCOVER

Field & context

Three site visits, conversations with 15+ residents.

Contextual inquiryAffinity mapping5 CI models
02 · DEFINE

Synthesis

From scattered field notes to clear personas and journeys.

PersonasEmpathy mapsJourney mappingHMW
03 · DEVELOP

Ideation

Wide-net brainstorming, structured ideation, dot voting.

BrainstormSCAMPERAffinityDot voting
04 · DELIVER

Concepts

Three concepts developed; one selected as lead direction.

Concept designUser flowsStoryboarding
03 · Discover

What the
field told us.

We immersed ourselves in three Wadas — observing how visitors moved.

Four observations that shaped everything after

- 01

Hidden in plain sight

Entrances are obscured or share frontage with shops.

- 02

No context, no connection

Renovated wings sit beside crumbling ones with no signage.

- 03

Photos without meaning

Young visitors treat courtyards as backdrops.

- 04

Community, but quietly

Families, elders, vendors still gather inside.

Survey snapshot

What people actually said.

We supplemented contextual inquiry with a bilingual (English + Marathi) survey of Pune residents and visitors. The data confirmed following suspicions.

Top motivator

Historical importance, followed by architecture confirming that story is the hook, not aestxhetics alone.

Top friction

Poor upkeep and missing information / signage / guides - basic infrastructure not concepts

The surprise

Strong appetite for adaptive reuse like cafés, art galleries, community hubs — provided cultural integrity stays.

04 · Define

The people
we are designing for.

We built four personas. Two carried the most tension.

Aarav, 23
The Curious Student
Goals
  • Discover hidden cultural pockets
  • Share on Instagram with story
  • Learn for coursework
Frustrations
  • No idea what I'm looking at
  • No QR codes or context
  • 15-minute photo stops
Quote

"I'd come back if there was a reason to."

Mr. Joshi, 68
The Neighbourhood Elder
Goals
  • See the Wada respected
  • Pass stories down
  • Walk courtyards freely
Frustrations
  • Decay and garbage
  • Tourists without respect
  • Younger gen not interested
Quote

"They take photos. They don't ask why the door is shaped that way."

User journey · Ganesh Utsav visit

Where curiosity dies a tourist's journey through a Wada.

We mapped three journeys; the festival visit was the most revealing.

The problem, in one sentence

Pune's Wadas have everything heritage tourism needs — history, architecture, community — and almost nothing visitors need: context, navigation, a reason to return.

— Synthesised from 15+ interviews, three field visits & survey data
05 · Reframe

How might we…

HMW 01

create emotional connections between visitors and Wadas?

HMW 02

make Wadas visible and discoverable in the city?

HMW 03

turn passive sightseeing into active participation?

06 · Ideate

From 40 ideas
to 3 directions.

We diverged wide then clustered, voted, and converged.

40+ ideas
01

Brainstorm

Open ideation across domains.

7 categories
02

SCAMPER

Seven prompts applied to the experience.

9 clusters
03

Affinity

Grouped overlapping ideas.

3 winners
04

Dot voting

Team voted on impact & feasibility.

07 · The Service

The Wada
Marathon.

Not just an app or a campaign — a three-layered service.

— LAYER 01

Physical

A charm acts as the visitor's passport.

— LAYER 02

Digital

A companion app with map, stamps, AR, audio stories.

— LAYER 03

Gamification

Badges, hidden trails, seasonal collectibles.

How it works

A seven-step ritual.

01
Begin

The passport

Download the app or pick up a charm.

02
Arrive

Recognition at the gate

Tap your charm or scan a QR.

03
Capture

The selfie mirror

AR adds motifs from the Wada's carvings.

04
Collect

Stamp the passport

Each visit adds a stamp to your passport.

05
Progress

Badges & unlocks

Themed badges unlock as you visit more.

06
Celebrate

Completion ritual

Finish a trail, earn a certificate.

07
Return

Hidden layers

Revisiting reveals new content and seasonal overlays.

Key touchpoints

The four moments
that carry the experience.

01 · Onboarding
01 · Onboarding
02 · The map
02 · The map
03 · Memory Collage
03 · Memory Collage
04 · Completion
04 · Completion
Why it works

Every choice traces back to a field insight.

Insight · "I have no idea what I'm looking at."
→
Charm-triggered audio stories at every Wada - narrated, not signposted.
Insight · 74% visit only once.
→
Layered unlocks & seasonal trails reward return - not just first arrival.
Insight · Young visitors treat courtyards as photo backdrops.
→
Selfie-mirror frames make photography a ritual that delivers story, not just takes one.
Insight · Wadas hide in plain sight.
→
City-wide trail creates wayfinding the city itself never built.
Insight · Pride and ownership matter to locals.
→
Physical charm + shareable collage turn visitors into ambassadors.
08 · The other two

What we also explored.

Two further concepts from ideation.

Concept 02

The Speaking Artifacts

Objects become storytellers via gesture-activated sensors.

Mode Phygital, in-situBest for Families, school groups
Concept 03

Mehfil at the Wada

Courtyards become cultural hubs with music and workshops.

Mode Event-led, ticketedBest for Cultural audiences
09 · Reflection

What this project taught us.

01

Heritage needs participation.

Sites that ask nothing get forgotten.

02

The brief is hiding in the field.

Three visits reframed the work.

03

Respect first, design second.

Every idea tested against the elder's pride.

04

Phygital wins where digital flattens.

The charm turns interaction into memory.