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Minor Project

28.08.23 - 12.12.23 (Week 1 - Week 15)
Emelyne How Sok Hing (0352938) 
Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media 
Minor Project 
Lectures
Week 1: 
We were quickly briefed on our module booklet and what we were to learn for this semester. Additionally, our lecturer showed us the different project that were available for us to choose and pick. We also had a meeting with our client on Friday to talk about our duty as designers for the product that we chose. 

Week 2: 
This time we learned a bit more about what's design thinking and the different steps that we need to go through so as to be a great designer. We watched videos that would explain to us in more details what we got dragged into and also did some QnA to test that we understood the assignment. 

Week 3: 
We learned about User Personas and how to utilize the website Xtensio to access their templates. This step is crucial because it helps us target a diverse audience based on factors such as age, mentality, spending power, and lifestyle. We were instructed on what to include when creating our personas.

Week 4: 
We had a group consultation with our lecturer during which we decided to reduce the number of user personas. Following this, we initiated the gathering on what questions to ask for the surveys and interviews for our target audience. Additionally, we had the opportunity to meet with our client, address any questions we had, and present our progress over the previous weeks.

Instructions
Week 2: 
Our first task of the week was to fill in the Miro board. Each one of us had to contribute information and secondary research that we could find on our products, as well as existing products. Although the screenshot may not be visible to the naked eye, here's some proof to give you an idea of what I was able to find. 

Figure 1.0 Here's what I managed to search and pitch in, 7th September 2023

Week 3: 
After presenting our Miro board to the lecturer, he requested that we condense all our key points onto a single board and subsequently arrange them coherently. Furthermore, we were tasked with crafting User Personas tailored to our client's product and services. To achieve this, we turned to the Xtensio website for guidance, using their templates and examples as references.

This is what our Miro board looked like after summarising everything. 

Figure 1.1 Miro board research, 16th September 2023

Process
We selected a template from the Xtensio website but discovered that there were watermarks on the images when we attempted to export them. In response, our team leader, Anna, suggested duplicating the same template on Canva for us to use. 

User Persona
I created a user persona centered around caregivers, such as mothers, who are taking care of babies with eczema or sensitive skin.

Figure 1.2 User Persona, 15th September 2023

These are the five user personas that we created. 

Figure 1.3 User Personas, 16th September 2023

Week 4: 
Following our meeting with the lecturer, we opted to retain only three personas: one focused on caregivers, another on adults traveling, and the third on senior citizens.

The next step was to initiate the process of gathering and formulating questions for our interviews and surveys with the target audience. To accomplish this, we began by creating a Google document and then assigned specific tasks to everyone.

After assembling the questions together, we asked our lecturer for a quick feedback and proceeded to make the necessary changes. Afterwards, I created the google forms and shared it with the others. 

Link to Google form:  
- Form for caregivers:
- Form for senior citizens:

Week 5: 
After discussing it further, we realized that our surveys were too basic and wouldn't give us the information we need. The responses wouldn't help us make better marketing and design decisions because we didn't ask the right questions initially. So, we had to put in more effort and revise the forms. 

Now that our lecturer has approved them, we're ready to share the surveys and collect as many responses as possible.

We received a total of 55 responses: 31 from caregivers, 18 from adults, and 6 from seniors. After collecting these responses, we categorised and organised them on our Miro board. Below is a summary of the caregiver responses that I did which are organised by order, with some key points summarized to keep the screenshots concise.

Figure 1.4 Summary of Google form responses, 1st October 2023

After summarising everything, we started the 'insights discovery' section that was required to be filled. Everyone added 5 key ideas that they had and then we filled in the rest accordingly. 

Figure 1.5 Insights Discovery, 1st October 2023

Week 6: 
After the feedbacks from our lecturer, we quickly summarised every form together and we separated the questions by different sections as well. 

Figure 1.6 Summary of data gathered, 2nd October 2023

Later, we adjusted our main concepts and categories because we realized they weren't developed with the right approach and lacked a strong conceptual foundation.

Figure 1.7 Key Ideas, 2nd October 2023

Figure 1.8 Insight Statements, 2nd October 2023

Week 8: 
We then filled in the problem statement, with the main contributions coming from Anna, Avril, and me. Finally, we had to fill in our how might we. However, we had to revise it again following our lecturer's guidance, which meant going through the same task once more.

Figure 1.9 The Problem Statement, 16th October 2023

Figure 2.0 How might we?, 16th October 2023

After that, we were informed that Week 9 would be our presentation week. We had to begin work on the art direction, wireframes, and other project elements. The graphic designers handled the art direction, while the UI/UX team took care of the website-related tasks. I was left to handle the presentation slides on my own for a while. It was quite challenging because sometimes the information in our data summary wasn't accurate, so I had to recalculate percentages. Additionally, I felt confused at times about what to include or omit since I was working solo. It took me a while to figure out what to add and how to summarize the content. I thought those slides would never end, but I managed to complete them.

Here's the link of our presentation: 

These are the slides for the presentation 1. 

Figure 2.1 Presentation slides (Before feedbacks), 23rd October 2023

Week 9 - 10: 
Over the past two weeks, we've made ongoing updates to our art direction, including the logo, color palette, and font choice. We've taken into account feedback from both our lecturer and our own assessments. Here's the finalised art direction.

Figure 2.2 Art direction, 5th November 2023

Week 11: 
I started the pre-launch tasks, focusing on GIF stickers. I aimed for a playful and cute feel without being too childish, keeping it professional. The challenge was that we didn't have a fixed theme, making it a bit confusing. I have to admit that our work seemed more individualized, with graphic designers, UI/UX, and animators working separately. We stuck to the same colors and fonts but lacked a cohesive overall theme. 

Link to GIF stickers:

Week 12: 
After receiving feedback on our pre-launch designs, I moved on to the next task: creating a social media teaser/ad for IG and Facebook (<10sec). This time, I focused on reflecting our brand personality and positioning statement instead of using random ideas.

I found copyright-free videos and photos on Pexels, saving me time on searching online. I used Premiere Pro and After Effects to edit the files, linking them to switch between apps easily. I aimed for a nostalgic Super 8 mm film effect, adding film burn and filters for a vintage look. The video highlights the brand's personalities using appropriate footage.

Figure 2.3 Video editing, 19th November 2023

Figure 2.4 Video editing, 19th November 2023

Link to social media ad video: 

Week 13: 
After finishing this, I started the promotional video which would be less than 30 seconds. Again, I looked for more content on Pexels and then started to draft out the video using After Effects and Premiere Pro. As for the music, I tried to find some nostalgic type of sound so that it would bring in more emotions. 

Here's the first draft of my video: 

Week 14: 
I received feedback on the promotional video and made several improvements. Firstly, I extended the duration by a significant 30 seconds. I adjusted the flow and direction of the lines to enhance cohesion, maintaining a consistent typeface throughout. Additionally, I introduced more motion graphics for added dynamism.

After the second revision, I sought feedback from peers and further refined the video by adjusting some curves and transitions. I also integrated new graphical elements provided by our graphic designers, incorporating them with subtle and smooth animations.

Figure 2.5 Video editing, 3rd December 2023

Here's the link for the new promotional video: 

Week 15: 
Next, I moved on to my other assignments, which included creating a 20-second promo ad and two short product showcase ads lasting around 10 seconds each. I searched for additional content on Pexels to enhance the product promotion. Following that, I edited the videos using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, incorporating similar motion graphics as in the promotional video I had previously worked on.

Figure 2.6 Video editing, 8th December 2023

This time, I aimed for a playful vibe, aligning the animations with the recent work of the graphic design team. I incorporated their elements and played around with animations, ensuring consistency with the previous videos. Despite the time crunch, I managed to add diverse transitions while maintaining the overall theme. Given the tight schedule, I had to hustle and complete the last three videos in a day, leaving my brain feeling dead.

Here's the link of the videos: 

Final Presentation Slides
Here's the link to our final presentation slides:

Figure 2.7 Final Presentation slides, 11th December 2023

Feedbacks
Week 3: 
- Researching eczema-friendly packaging is both intriguing and a valuable concept.
- Suggesting recent innovations could benefit the client if they plan to expand.
- There's no need to place excessive emphasis on production since our primary goal is product promotion.
- The research on children affected by eczema is a significant and relevant point.
- To clarify try to consolidate all these insights into a summary.

Week 4: 
Feedback for User Personas:
- Reduce to only three personas.
- Adults may be the ones with spending power for their kids/teenagers or even their elderly parents, such as grandparents.

Week 5:  
- Check the grammar spelling
- Be more precise for some words/Add more context
- The questions are too demographic and not psychographic enough

Week 6 - 15: 
The rest of the feedbacks can be found on this google doc link: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1meF7q0xxMB78ZlVMPS4TaKP3fqtpl0v1WcCBfbA2Er8/edit?usp=sharing

Reflections
Week 1: 
We started this minor project by getting a short briefing of what this subject was and what was expected from us. Discovering that we would be working with a client was quite exciting for me, as I had never done this before. This made me quite enthusiastic about the project. Fast forward to this event, we had our first meeting with the client and met our supervisor. I really liked our supervisor's energy as she seemed very passionate about it so it also made me feel more motivated to give this project my best. Setting aside my initial feelings, she explained the project briefly and provided additional information that would be useful for our upcoming work. Her additional notes and information helped me understand more clearly what we were working on. I believe this will not only benefit me but also my teammates by providing extra help in coming up with different ideas and preparing ourselves for what's coming up.

Week 2:
This time, we received an introduction to design thinking, specifically the EDIPT approach, which guides us through the essential steps necessary to understand our customers and their products. Additionally, we engaged in practical exercises involving video analysis and questionnaires, providing us with examples of how to approach our own tasks. This experience was valuable to me because it not only improved my understanding of how to approach our new project but also inspired me to generate fresh ideas that can be applied to our upcoming tasks. This will certainly impact my brainstorming process, which will be a crucial requirement in the upcoming weeks

Week 3:
We began with a group consultation, and I'm relieved to note that our content and research weren't in vain. Our lecturer pointed out that the additional information we gathered demonstrates our commitment and hard work to the client. During the lecture, we learned about creating Personas as a crucial step before proceeding to interviews and surveys. Prior to this, I had never heard of Personas, and this new knowledge is quite interesting. I believe it will be instrumental in helping us tackle the next task, enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of our target audience, their needs, and their purchasing power and so on. I'm also glad that the tasks in the group are split equally and fairly.

Week 4:
We began with another consultation with our lecturer, ultimately identifying three out of the five user personas as the most relevant. Subsequently, we had a valuable meeting with our client, during which we gathered crucial information about the brand, product, and fabric. This insight will prove valuable as we move forward with our survey question creation, allowing us to align with the direction our client indicated.

Week 5:
After our recent consultation this week, I came to the realisation that our initial survey was too shallow and didn't go deep enough to gather the necessary information for our client. We were missing many important questions, and I now see that we should have been more thorough from the start. Identifying what we missed was a valuable lesson, and it made me aware of how much I overlooked when it came to considering the User Persona. Going through the questions with my team was beneficial, and I think this session has equipped us to create better surveys in the future.

Week 6 - 15: 
The rest of the reflections can be found on this google doc link: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1meF7q0xxMB78ZlVMPS4TaKP3fqtpl0v1WcCBfbA2Er8/edit?usp=sharing

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