Minor Project / Project Empathy Walk

April 23, 2023 - July 23, 2024 / (Week 1- 14)

Anandya Dewi Saputra / 0354651

Minor Project / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Project / Empathy Walk 

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LECTURES

Week 1:

In the first week, like usual we were briefed through the module information booklet, but this module emphasized about MLE (Multidisciplinary Learning Experience) project. This module will have us create a project and collaborate with people who each have different skills and abilities. We went through our senior's project and it varies from a product/prototype to a website/application. The next step is we have to group up to six people to complete the project.

Project list:

• Daikin air purifier
• Self-sampling pap smear device
• Smart breast pump
• Empathy walk
• Unicorn brand
• Pink stuff
• Manknots
• Basic-T

Week 2:

This week we learned to do contextual research. It is the process of analyzing the context within which items or objects are found in order to enhance one’s understanding of the subject. In relation to the discipline of design, anthropology, sociology, and even business. Contextual research seeks to understand the topic of analysis in light of its context including culture, history, environment, and usage. This approach enables the researcher to make a good decision when designing something or coming up with a good strategy that will suit a certain environment.

Week 3:

This is where we learned to create and came up with a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a set of questions that are prepared with the intention of gathering responses from people. It is a method used in research to collect data from respondents with the purpose of:

• Identify needs
• Define what the project aims for
• Validate assumptions
• Provide data for development
• Reduce risks
• Enhance credibility

In other words, a questionnaire will provide project planners with more knowledge, which can enhance the effectiveness of a planned project to achieve its aim and objective and also increase the potential of success.

Week 4&5:

Questionaire review

Week 6:

In this week we focus on the user's persona. A user persona is a description of a person based on a particular market segment that you want to address. Every persona is grounded in user identification insights and obtained data on demographics, behaviors, incentives, objectives, and challenges. It is crucial to know that personas make you know your users and enable you to enhance your project to fit them.

Example:

Leo Wang is a typical 18-year-old freshman, excited about the new chapter in their life but also facing the challenges of adapting to a new environment and academic expectations.

Needs:

He needs guidance, support, and a sense of belonging in the new university environment. They also need clear information and directions to navigate the campus and its facilities.

Frustration:

He may be frustrated by the complexity of the campus layout, the lack of clear information about university procedures and events, and the challenges of making new friends and fitting in.

Week 7:

In this week we completed the user's journey map. This helps to guide us on what to on and what not for this project.

Fig 1.0 User's journey map example

Week 9:

In this week we created presentation slides to later on show to our client. A presentation to a client involves explaining your work, illustrating how they can use it, and why the client should need it. It involves:

• Introduction (background and goal)
• Problem statement
• Contextual research
• Competitor analysis
• Research findings
• Survey summary
• User persona
• User journey map
• Target audience
• Conclusion

Week 10:

We did a presentation and got feedback for our project.

Week 11:

We created a flow chart, UI UX design draft from the chosen references.  

Week 12:

We finished the revision given as well as completed our flowchart, design, and also presentation slides.

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INSTRUCTIONS

At the beginning of this module, I had the idea of choosing the project with the unicorn or the pink theme. However, since the circumstances were unavailable due to the prior booking by other classmates who also major in digital animation, I chose to undertake the empathy walk project. The purpose of our project is designed to create an Augmented Reality (AR) experience that would portray the vibe of Taylor’s University to potential students especially those who are trying to visit the university on a weekend or any other public holiday. After the lecturer confirmed my group, he gave us a Miro Board on which we were supposed to chart our progress and submit our project ideas. It contains aspects like the empathy map, problem statement, project objectives, and other documents for this project.

Fig 1.0 Miroboard contextual research
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKMlgHLU=/

We then began doing the survey since it helped collect general information that we needed for our project. Thus, we concluded that it would be useful to retain several questions in the survey that have been confirmed during the analysis. These questions are as follows; questions regarding the respondent’s age, nationality, and educational level. The next questions were to find out if the respondent has ever heard of Augmented Reality, the respondent’s feelings, and perception about Augmented Reality, which devices he/she has ever used for Augmented Reality, and the main uses or purpose of Augmented Reality by the respondent. This has been accomplished in an attempt to avail us of a wide approach that can give us the requisite insights and trends that can enable us to pursue the development of our project.

Link to project survey : 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfS6trbICac_pii5FCkcNW9GcLOM1wBeptWtWK7bh-7-Qfqxw/formResponse

After getting approval from our lecturer, we began spreading the questionnaire to gather responses. Upon gathering the data from our questionnaire, we identified three individuals to represent our personas: Karan Dev, a student graduated from the SPM; Leo Wang, a student at the university; YuanZheHao, a student, who wants to transfer to Taylor’s University.

Fig 1.1 User personas
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVKMlgHLU=/

We then compiled all of the data gathered into the final slides for our proposal.

Fig 1.2 Ideation proposal

After completing some of our project progress, we created a draft of the flowchart in Figma with a simple wireframe to then show our lecturer.

Fig 1.3 Figma draft

After telling the progress to our lecturer, he gave us a few suggestions that could help us do our project better. He suggested us to use professional UI/UX designs for reference at least three for the purpose of achieving better design and layout. Further, he recommended introducing a secondary color, like yellow or orange, instead of red as the main color to differentiate the design from the other Taylor's apps that currently already exist. Moreover, he suggested that we should consider finishing the flowchart first to easily identify the errors and to have a better understanding of the flow of the app as well as the features and functionality added. After my team member finished doing the flowchart, I then began adding the design in.

Fig 1.4 Figna draft design

After receiving feedback from our lecturer, we completed the design and finalized the presentation slides. 

Fig 1.5 Final presentation slides

Fig 1.6 Final prototype 

Fig 1.7 Final prototype

Out of all the team projects I have ever done, this was the most challenging one. I really gathered a lot of knowledge from this module, though this does not mean they were easy to accomplish. Certainly, I have learned a lot in doing all these tasks in relation to completing a project that involves researching as well as preparing and presenting the progress to both the lecturer and the client.