Week 12: Project 3 presentation

In this tutorial we presented our final group presentations. The feedback we received was to highlight why our design identity would make the business different from other competitors in the market. I believe our design solution was effective in relation to the brief we were given because our design elements were within a realistic price range to continually maintain cheap production costs and we provided a cohesive design theme that illustrated the companies product, service and value across all deliverables. 


What we could have improved on in our presentation would be to have clearer, less cluttered presentation slides. This is also relevant for the executive hand out. Instead of putting dot points of information, just displaying images of our design deliverables would be clearer for the reader to understand. Further explanation of the design process and why it would be successful would also improve our design pitch. 

Sarah McGill
u3115075

Reference: 

Unknown author (2014), Kopi shop (coffee shop). Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754 

Week 11: Project 3 Feedback

In this tutorial my group compiled the research we had done on the project 3 brief and created a set of objectives to direct our creative thinking. Our objectives were to;

• Create affordable, quality coffee

• Create an Australasian brand identity through creating a recognisable logo, uniform, loyalty cards, Facebook page and shop front

• Create a brand desirable to students, professionals and local workers 

• Illustrate the brands identity; it is cost friendly, has flavoursome products and identifies locally 

• Cater to all stakeholders needs and desires                          

• Maintain competitively low prices 

In acquiring feedback from Raghu and creating objectives from our research framework my group and I have a general outline, propelling our design approach. From this point we are going to produce multiple concepts which we will evaluate and converge based on the criteria above. (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014)

Sarah McGill
u3115075

Reference:
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 8, Week 10: Concept evaluation and design ethics. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 10: Project 3 scoping document review and discussion

In this tutorial we discussed the Project 3 outline, common mistakes made in report research and discussed our project scoping so far. My group edited our scope to align to Raghu's discussed concepts and processes and came up with specific research points that we could distribute amungst each of us, these included;

• Target group; Age group (demographic), narrowing the briefs target market.
• Coffee consumers in Australia; price, quantity per day/week, capacity/size,  preferred type of coffee.
• Competition; cafes, franchisees, successful and unsuccessful coffee brands.
• Indonesian and Australia coffee production; processes, whats involved.

With this information we are looking to define a specific problem and address the clients wants and needs. This means we can produce a concept and start proposing and creating ideas. We are looking to include both Qualitative and Quantitate data in our research. Our project scope is also being changed and developed as we progress through the introductory stage of this project.
By the end of next week we are hoping to have our background research completed and an general outline of our report and design approach. This will be possible by taking our research and making a list of criteria or objectives that will guide our ideation, and concept evaluation process in converging an appropriate design solution. (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014)

Sarah McGill
u3115075


Reference:
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 8, Week 10: Concept evaluation and design ethics. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 7: Project 1 Feedback

This week we discussed and received feedback about our Project 1 drafts.

Feedback for my assignment 
- Clarify introduction
- Narrow down research
- Evaluate concept (limitations, will it work?)

Upon reflection this assignment proved to be quite a challenge. I found comprehending the outline to be difficult in regards to defining a problem. This was because the brief addressed a large problem that is influenced by a variety of individual factors (Beth Bentley, Adam & Eve, 2012), meaning it was difficult to pin point and choose one angle. Finding relevant research to support and redefine the problem was a trial and error process but became easier the more research and knowledge I acquired. My ideation process was easier to develop due to the depth of research previously done creating a solid foundation for my final solution. This assignment forced me to look at my own design thinking process (be aware of it)  and how to comprehend whats starts off as a mess of ideas on paper, to a cohesive layout that communicates to an audience. (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014) If I could do something different next time I would perhaps lay it out a little differently maybe in a landscape layout and I would spend more time on my ideation process so there is more ideas to choose from later when I am refining concepts to a possible solution.

Sarah McGill
u3115075


References:
Beth Bentley, Adam & Eve (2012), Saving for the future: a society-wide challenge, published for D&AD 2012 Student Awards, retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754

Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 4, Week 4: Design Process and methods: order out of chaos. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 6: Project 1 problem formulation and concept exploration

Today we focused on the first assignment, the concept report. We talked in our groups and with Rahgu about how we are going to approach this brief in regards to our problem formulation, research, ideas and concepts. We all asked questions about anything that we did not understand and went over the report structure that is expected. As mentioned in the week 5 lecture 'Ideation' by (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014), defining and framing the design problem is key. I think that the problem behind the younger generation not saving is the depletion of financial literacy. The education of financial literary. From here I narrowed down the different means of education such as; parents, primary schools, high schools, tertiary education and financial institutions. From here I will chose a specific education segment and look at how they can offer a solution to the problem, for example programs and campaigns and what they will consist of. I will also be exploring the definition of financial literacy and how this can support sensible consumerism, a problem inherently linked to the overall brief. I have expanded my means of research by exploring superannuation/company reports and documents, as well as researching banks, ABS data and conducting interviews and group discussions within the target group. 

Sarah McGill
u3115075

Reference: 
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 5, Week 5: Ideation, retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 5: Project 1 problem statement discussion

Today we discussed how we are going to approach our design brief for our concept report. As a class we discussed the many issues that cause young people to not think about saving for the future. Some of these issues were related to society in regards to the perceived value of money, high consumer driven environment, high cost of living and lack of money education. The way I approached a particular view in this brief was by asking friends about their saving habits. With this knowledge I concluded that with a higher cost of living younger generations have less disposable income and what they do have left is most likely spent due to consumer driven decisions. Therefore I think the main problem is the depleted knowledge and education of why it is important to save and techniques of how we can realistically save with a small income in mind. This could encourage youths to have saving on their mind, looking at achievable goals for the future.

After learning the distinction between attitudinal/behavioural and qualitative/quantitative research methods we looked at what techniques we were going to use to collect our data. I am going to look at:

• Bank research (savings campaigns, options, rewards - how many banks do this?) 
• ABS statistics ( employment and income of 18 - 25) 
• Interviews (attitudes towards value of money, do they save?, why?, their saving techniques, what do they spend disposable income on?) 
• Group discussion (new problems, ideas or concepts, further understanding) 
• School programs (independent research) What age? Is it continuous/reoccurring learning? Primary, High school?
• Surveys (if more research is needed) 

I am taking the above approach as research plays a vital role in both defining and exploring the design problem. (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014)

Sarah McGill
u3115075

References: 
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 4, Week 4: Design Process and methods: order out of chaos. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 3, Week 3: Design problem. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 4: Design Process and Project 1 Introduction

In this weeks tutorial we discussed our homework in groups of three. Our homework in the Week 3 lecture: Design problem was thinking how to to approach 'redesigning a watch', thinking of questions like what the problem is and how to reformulate it. I initially thought of the problems and functions of a watch. It is a functional portable device that tells the time. I thought a problem with the watch was that it was bulky and uncomfortable to wear on a daily basis. From this I developed possible solutions.

However as I discussed this with my classmates the idea came up that to redesign a watch, the watch itself has to become obsolete for the sake of progress and innovative solutions. We need to look at the original problem that caused the watch to be made. We have to move backwards to truly understand the nature of the problem. A watch was made to be a portable device to tell time. Before it was portable, clocks and sundials were made to tell time. Why do we need to tell time? To schedule/plan our day and adhere to it. Therefore to reformulate the problem we are looking to design a personalised item or means of scheduling or planning your day. We further discussed the importance of the watch and how it has become an item of style rather than function.

In understanding this concept we were given the brief/outline for our first project that looked at how a bank wanted to change the mind set of youth to start saving money now to prepare for the future. We discussed some of the major problems this posed such as less disposable income with a higher standard of living, the perceived value of money at a younger age, lack of knowledge, additional debts (university), diminishing trust in banks, alternative means of spending money (travelling and material items) and overall socio-cultural influences (media). In response to this we suggested the information we thought we would need to address this problem such as economic statistics, census data, surveys to further understand youth phycology, benefits of saving and bank rewards.

Sarah McGill
u3115075

Reference: 
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 3, Week 3: Design problem. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 3: A bridge too far

We discussed the homework given last week in the Lecture, Week 2: Design Activity which was "Design an interior navigation system for dementia patients care and residence including 24 patients, 4 care takers and 12 admin staff" As well as being a brief I determined that this was also a problem, primarily for dementia patients as their memory makes it hard for them to identify signage. In a group of three we discussed our design thinking for this brief. We found that we have three separate target markets; dementia patients, carers and administration staff meaning that signs for each will be different in regards to their needs as well as the goals and constraints. We drew a mind map looking at the different design considerations that would be necessary such as, layout of the building and positioning of signs, size/scale, colours (strong contrast, easy to see), typefaces and illustrations/ keys to help dementia patients identify the message conveyed. More research would be necessary in regards to the dementia patients to further understand their condition and using certain information to inform design decisions.

In todays activity we were given the task to construct a bridge that would reach over a 30cm gap and hold 500gms of weight. We were only given four peaces of paper and one length of string to do so. In our group our inital design thinking started with our constraints. The A4 paper given was not sufficient in length to reach over a 30cm gap so we had to double our paper over. We thought about triangles being a strong shape and threaded string through these shapes to provide some strength and support. When this failed we found that with limited paper when we created more strength our surface area was compromised and if we created more surface area our strength was compromised. With these problems in mind we used a twisting method for more strength and bound our individual pieces together to create more surface area, whilst strong it was not long or wide enough to support the weight. On our last attempt we doubled our paper over for more length and folded using a zig zag style to create multiple points of strength along the bridge. We bound string around the bridge to prevent the it from collapsing when weight was distributed. This proved to be our most successful attempt.

Our last design solution

Whilst trial and error seemed to be used a number of times in creating our bridge, a thinking process was evident and important in identifying problems with our structure and producing new solutions that would ultimately lead to our final product. In comparison to our homework brief I used a similar thinking process but with more pre planning and idea generations. In looking at different design factors I could see certain problems in regards to our target market, narrowing down solutions more likely to succeed. In a professional situation which the homework brief outlined, more design thinking and detailed planning is needed to understand the main problems before producing prototypes. This is the main difference between the thinking processes used in these design briefs. This idea is explored by (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014) in the Week 4 Lecture: Design processes and methods (order out of chaos). 

Sarah McGill
u3115075

References: 

Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 2, Week 2: Design Activity. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 4, Week 4: Design Process and methods (order out of chaos) Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754. 

Week 2: Design Activity

                                                                                                                                       
In todays tutorial, after introductions and meeting my fellow class mates we discussed the meaning of design thinking in everyday activities. Being set as a homework task, in groups of three we all chose an activity that we thought demonstrated design thinking. My group chose dancing and how choreography interprets music and creates a performance to please an audience. However we later learned that design thinking should be considered separate from a process. Design thinking is directly linked to problem solving. In relation to this we talked about how a surgeon follows a precise process that was most likely developed by someone else. This surgeon does not demonstrate design thinking unless there is a complication during surgery such as an appendix being in a different location, then he/she must think of a way to overcome this issue, by maybe looking else wear with a camera etc. Design thinking could be used in dancing when different choreography is needed due to different circumstances or needs for example it is not interesting enough, the audiences are not responding, change in music or an injury of a dancer. I learnt in todays tutorial that design thinking is responding to a problem and creating a suitable solution. This was further discussed in the Week 2 lecture: Design activity by (Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, 2014). 

Sarah McGill
u3115075

References: 
Dr. Raghavendra Reddy, Gudur, R-R.G (2014), 8600 Graphic Design Thinking and Research, Lecture 2, Week 2: Design Activity. Retrieved from http://learnonline.canberra.edu.au/course/view.php?id=11754.