Minor Project
Week 1- Week 14
Myra Elida Binti Abd Azis / 0359620 / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in
Creative Media
Minor Project
Lectures
Week 1 – Getting Started
The first week focuses on orientation. You’ll watch the
Introductory Video and the
Week 1 Lecture Video to get
familiar with the course structure.
You’ll also:
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Read the HyFlex Learning FAQs to understand how flexibility works in this format.
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Note down the Interactive Synchronous Learning (ISL) schedule.
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Review the Module Information, Assessment Rubric, and an introduction from your lecturer.
Week 2 – Foundations of Design Thinking
2.1 Artist or Designer?
Art is primarily about
self-expression —
communicating personal feelings or ideas, often without a functional
goal.
Design, on the other hand, is about
problem-solving and
creating solutions that meet user needs.
While artists create to express themselves, designers create to serve
others. Importantly, being a designer doesn’t require being “artistically
gifted” — it’s more about strategic thinking than drawing skills.
2.2 The Five Stages of Design Thinking
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Empathize – Truly understand users and their challenges.
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Define – Identify the core problem.
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Ideate – Generate a variety of possible solutions.
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Prototype – Build quick, tangible representations of ideas.
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Test – Get user feedback and refine.
2.3 Assumptions vs. Empathy
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Assumptions are guesses shaped by past experience — often misleading.
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Empathy involves deep listening and observation to uncover what users actually feel and need.
Great design is built on insight, not guesswork.
2.4 Empathy in Action – Real-World Examples
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Embrace Infant Warmer: A low-cost incubator for premature babies in developing countries.
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Rural India Design: Addressing hygiene and quality of life through user-centered innovations.
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Healthcare: Doctors improving patient care by understanding emotional needs.
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Airbnb: Enhancing user experience by applying empathy-driven design.
Week 3 – Understanding Users
3.1 Why User Research Matters
User research keeps design grounded in real needs. It reveals pain points,
behaviours, and motivations, leading to better usability and engagement.
3.2 User Personas
Personas are fictional yet research-based profiles that represent typical
users.
They help teams visualize user goals, frustrations, and contexts, keeping
design decisions aligned.
3.3 Surveys & Research Methods
Surveys collect user input and validate ideas at various stages.
The best surveys are clear, unbiased, and directly linked to project goals.
Key Takeaways:
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Research is the foundation of human-centred design.
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Personas humanize data, building empathy.
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Structured research methods create actionable insights.
Week 4 – Defining the Problem
4.1 Insights in the Define Stage
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Observations = raw data (what you see/hear).
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Insights = deeper understanding of why behaviour happens.
Insights uncover unmet needs and spark opportunities for innovation.
4.2 Data → Findings → Insights
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Data: Unprocessed information (e.g., survey responses).
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Findings: Patterns or trends from that data.
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Insights: Actionable conclusions that guide the design path.
4.3 Problem Statements
A strong problem statement is user-focused and based on insights. It keeps
the process anchored to solving the right challenge, without jumping to
solutions too soon.
4.4 How Might We (HMW) Questions
Transforming a problem statement into an open-ended “How might we…?”
question encourages creativity and multiple possible solutions.
Week 5 – Ideation
5.1 What is Ideation?
This is where creativity expands — generating as many potential solutions as
possible before narrowing them down.
Ideation thrives on collaboration, openness, and diversity of ideas.
5.2 Applying Ideation to the Customer Journey
Mapping a user’s full journey with a product or service highlights pain
points and moments of delight.
Each step becomes an opportunity for targeted, user-focused solutions.
Week 6 – Presenting Your Design Proposal
6.1 Purpose of a Design Proposal Presentation
A proposal presents your solution concept to stakeholders, explaining:
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The problem
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Key research insights
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Your design approach
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The proposed solution
Its aim is to secure buy-in, gather feedback, or move forward with implementation.
6.2 Presenting Effectively
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Tailor your message to your audience.
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Open with impact — hook their interest immediately.
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Use emotional connections or real examples.
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Avoid jargon; keep it clear.
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Engage with visuals and questions.
6.3 Designing Strong Slides
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Keep layouts clean and uncluttered.
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Use large, readable fonts and consistent styles.
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Replace walls of text with visuals where possible.
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Limit each slide to one core idea.
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Maintain good contrast between background and text.
Group Assignment
Week 2
Formed project teams. I chose the
food aid theme to explore
solutions for food insecurity and support vulnerable communities.
Week 3
Researched the target audience.
Food Donors (Supply Sources)
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Manufacturers, Distributors, Wholesalers, Retailers – Donate safe but unsellable food due to defects, near expiry, incorrect labeling, or damaged packaging.
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Food Service Providers (restaurants, cafés) – Provide surplus food or items not meeting portion/aesthetic standards.
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Corporate Entities – Contribute promotional items, event leftovers, or samples.
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Individuals – Donate non-perishable food or provide monetary support.
Food Recipients (Beneficiaries)
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Charitable & Welfare Homes – Shelters and care facilities for vulnerable groups.
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Volunteer Welfare Organizations – Community groups distributing donated food.
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PPR/Low-Income Families – Households struggling with food insecurity.
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Homeless & Destitute Individuals – People without stable housing or income.
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Soup Kitchens – Provide free prepared meals.
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Refugee Communities – Displaced families lacking access to basic food.
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Flood Victims – People affected by natural disasters in need of emergency aid.
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Orang Asli – Indigenous communities with limited access to resources.
Week 4
Expanded research with real-life examples to understand how food aid
programs work and the challenges they face.
Week 5
Interviewed food aid company representatives.
Key insights:
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Hard to get direct answers from the B40 due to trust issues.
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Common belief that nutritious food is expensive.
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Free food/assistance attracts more people.
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Direct, culturally appropriate communication works best.
Week 7
Revised User Persona and
How Might We questions to
reflect new insights and refine problem statements.
Week 8–9
Led
design style direction:
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Chose a simple, clean style with healthy, natural elements.
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Created a mood board with green, orange, and blue (aligned with branding).
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Used cartoon-style illustrations to appeal to children and families.
Week 10
Presented Insight,
Problem Statement, and
How Might We sections in
the proposal presentation.
Week 11
Refined
User Journey Map and
art direction for better
alignment with user needs, ensuring a consistent, engaging, and intuitive
design.
Microsite Prototype
Reflection
Participating in this group project on Food Aid Foundation has been a valuable and insightful journey. By applying the design thinking process, our team worked together to develop solutions that address the needs of vulnerable communities experiencing food insecurity. This project deepened my appreciation for human-centred design and highlighted the importance of empathy, creativity, and strong teamwork in solving real-world problems.
Conducting research on our target audience taught me how to identify and understand both donors and beneficiaries, as well as the challenges they face. Creating detailed user personas helped keep our ideas focused and relevant throughout the process. These profiles acted as a constant reminder of who we were designing for, ensuring our solutions were meaningful and user-oriented.
While we encountered difficulties in simplifying our design and making it more intuitive for the community, open communication and collaboration allowed us to improve our ideas. Each team member played a role in refining our work, and together we developed a clear, engaging, and practical concept. This experience has shown me the value of combining empathy with design skills to create impactful solutions.
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