Minor Project
- September 22, 2025
September 21,2025
21/09/2025 - 31/12/2025(Week 1 - Week 14 )
ZHANG TIANYAO/0376838
Minor Project / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
LIST
1. Instructions
2. Feedback
3. Reflections
Instructions
Week 1
First week of the class we were assigned to create a group of 7 members from different specialisation. Our group included:
1.0363575 / Yang Yang / Entertainment Design (Group Leader)
2.0375835 / Zhang Zihan / Entertainment Design
3.0376838 / Zhang Tianyao / Graphie design
4.0378676 / Zhou Yutong / immersive design
5.0378687 / Li Zexing / Graphic design
6.0360677 / Lim Zhi Yuan / UI/UX
7.0378712 / Diane Wan / UI/UX
Week 2
This week we were assigned the brief of selecting our project topic from a list of options, after discussion we selected "Period Poverty" as our topic. With direction set, our next step is get organised. We held a in class meeting to divide responsibilies, ensure every team members has a clear and defined role.
Week 3
This week was all about gathering information. We started by having a meeting with our client to talk about our project on Period Poverty. This was a helpful meeting because it made sure we understood what the client expects from us and helped us feel more confident about our direction.
After the meeting, the group spent time doing research. We focused on looking into how Period Poverty affects people in China. We spent the week reading through different reports and articles to get a better understanding of the situation.
By doing the research realise that menstruation is a sensitive topic in China. Many people dont have access to or a correct information about periods, We want to make an education website be a place people can learn and feel supported.
Week 4
After finishing the research last week, this week was all about getting ready to contact with real people. The first thing was decide on our target audience. team members working on research proposal spent time figuring out exactly who we should interview and how to get in touch with them.
We decided that our target audience should be students between the ages of 14 and 19, as well as volunteers who work on this issue. We chose this age group because we want to understand how period poverty affects young people in school. Then Yangyang and Zhou Yutong draft out the question for interview.
I am responsible for conducting an interview with a volunteer.
Week 5
This week we started the actual interview process. Now that we had our plan ready, it was time to talk to the people who fit our target group of students (ages 14–19) and volunteers.
Before we started each interview, we made sure to ask everyone to sign a consent form. This was a simple form to make sure they were okay with us recording the conversation and using their answers for our study. It was important to us that everyone felt safe and comfortable sharing their thoughts.
After the interview were finished, the interview recording have a few things to do:
- turned the recordings into a written notes (transcripts) so we could read then easily.
- wrote a summary of the main points from each person
Week 6
This week, we took all the notes and summaries from our interviews and used them to really understand the people we are trying to help. We worked together to create three main things: a User Persona, an Empathy Map, and a User Journey Map.
Creating a Character (User Persona) First, we created a "User Persona." This is like a character profile of a typical student who might face Period Poverty. Giving our user a name and a story makes them feel like a real person. It helps the whole group stay focused on who we are actually designing for, instead of just looking at data.
Next, we made an "Empathy Map." This helped us dig deeper into what a student in this situation sees, feels, hears, and does. We talked about their worries and the things that make their lives difficult. This part was really important because it helped us feel more connected to the problem. It’s not just about facts; it’s about how people feel.
Finally, we made a "User Journey Map." We drew out the steps a student takes and the struggles they face in their daily life. This helped us see exactly where the biggest problems are. By looking at the "journey" from start to finish, we can see where we should focus our ideas to help the most.
Week 7,8
For this two weeks, our group has been focused on one presentation for Week 9. We have been working on our presentation slides to make sure we can explain our research and ideas to our client.
Week 9
This week a major turning point of our project. We had a meeting with client to show our presentation and ideation for the education website. However, the feedback we received was not what we expected.The feedback from client felt that website might not be the best way to help people dealing with period poverty.
After the meeting, our group held an offline meeting on campus to talk about what to do next. We had to be honest with ourselves: if the website wasn't going to work, we needed a better idea fast. After a long discussion, we decided to pivot. Instead of a website, we are now going to create a card game for period poverty.
Week 10
After we comfirmed the final product is game card, we decided to work fast on the prototype design and game rules.
Week 11, 12
Game Card Promote
In this two weeks, we shared our physical game cards with our volunteers in China to get the cards to local students. Due to the distance limitation this was the best way for us to proceed our prototype testing.
To help spread the game card, we also designed a posters in Chinese, the posters explained the game rules and how to setup. Between the posters and the volunteers, we were able to get students playing and learning.
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| Poster |
Week 13
This week, we finally tested our prototype card game. Since the students are young and it was hard to talk to them directly because of privacy and their parents, our volunteers did the testing for us and gave us feedback.
To make sure we got good data, we gave the volunteers two sets of interview questions: one to answer before the testing and one for after the testing.
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Testing |
What we found:
Overall the feedback was very positive, these are the main things we collected from both the female and male volunteers:
Before the Testing:
Teaching about periods was awkward and mostly involved just talking or simple drawings.
Students were shy; girls were hesitant to speak, and boys often made jokes or didn't pay attention.
The volunteer didn't feel very confident because they didn't have the right tools.
After the Testing:
The game made the classroom feel relaxed and fun. Students actually wanted to join in.
Male students started participating and talked about how to stop the stigma around periods.
The volunteers felt much more confident. The game gave them a structure, so they didn't feel embarrassed anymore.
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| Boy before and after using the card |
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| Girl before and after using the card |
Week 14
This presentation, scheduled for December 30th, serves as the sequel to our mid-term update. We will present the project's final outcomes, covering our chosen direction, functional prototypes, and the insights gathered from testing.
Feedback
Week 1–2:
Module briefings were conducted to introduce the course structure, requirements, and expectations.
Week 3:
This week, our focus was on conducting user interviews. Each interview involved recording a video and creating a full transcript. All materials were uploaded to our shared folder. The collected data will be used to create two user personas and identify pain points highlighted during the interviews.
Week 4:
We conducted demo interviews with other group members during the tutorial class, which helped us understand the interview process and improve our questioning techniques.
Week 7:
Participated in the Crazy 8 ideation activity to generate diverse design concepts.
Week 8:
Focused on finalizing the project presentation and refining our understanding of the users ahead of the final review. We checked all slides for typos, ensured consistent formatting, outlined the presentation structure, and updated user background information with insights from recent interviews.
Week 9:
After reviewing progress and client feedback, the team collectively decided to change our prototype product.
Week 10–12:
Minimal feedback or specific activities recorded. Adjustments to the game card were made in Week 11.
Week 13–14:
Final preparations for the presentation and project submission.
Reflections
This module taught me to adapt when plans do not go as expected. The most significant challenge occurred in Week 9 when the client informed us that their website concept would not work. We had to pivot quickly, transforming the project into a card game. This experience highlighted that delivering a genuinely useful tool for others is more important than sticking rigidly to an initial idea.
Teamwork was a crucial part of the project. As two members of our group were non-Chinese, we made extra efforts to ensure clear communication and inclusion, including enabling them to directly engage with Chinese volunteers and underprivileged students. This experience taught me the importance of leveraging each team member’s strengths to achieve our goals. We also learned that clear communication is essential for gathering high-quality research and properly validating ideas.
The most rewarding moment came when we reviewed the test results. Hearing that the card game made sensitive topics easier to discuss and that volunteers felt more confident using it in teaching was truly heartening. Observing how the tool transformed interactions between students and volunteers from challenging to smooth gave me a strong sense of accomplishment and pride.
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