Minor Project
20/4/2026 - /2026 / Week 1 - Week
ZHANG QIYU / 0384019
I learned the difference between art and design. Art focuses on self-expression, while design focuses on communication and problem-solving. I also learned about Design Thinking, which includes three stages: Inspiration, Ideation, and Implementation, with five steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.
Another important concept was Design Innovation, which balances User Desirability, Technology Feasibility, and Business Viability. I also understood the difference between Assumption and Empathy. Assumption is making decisions based on personal opinions, while empathy means understanding users’ real needs through research and observation.
Project Proposal Sections
A project proposal is structured into four key sections to clearly explain the project idea and its purpose.
- Executive Summary：The Executive Summary provides a brief overview of the entire project. It introduces the project’s purpose, the main problem being addressed, and the proposed solution. This section also explains the expected outcomes and highlights which UNSDG goals the project aims to support. It serves as a short but persuasive introduction to gain the client’s interest and approval.
- Background：The Background section provides context for the project by discussing similar projects, products, or solutions that already exist in the market or globally. It helps explain why this project is relevant at the current time and identifies limitations or weaknesses in previous solutions. This allows the project to establish its significance and justify why a new approach is needed.
- Solving the Problem：This section focuses on clearly identifying the main problem that the project intends to solve and explaining why solving it is important. The problem should be presented as an opportunity for innovation or market growth. It also highlights the project’s unique selling point and explains the skills, resources, technologies, and strategies that will be used, especially those related to modern 4IR technologies, to create an effective solution.
- Design Thinking Phases – Empathy Design：This section emphasizes user research and empathy studies to better understand the target audience. Research methods such as interviews, observations, and surveys are used to gather meaningful insights. Each group is required to summarize the target users, inclusion and exclusion criteria, research findings, and key insight statements. In addition, every student must conduct at least one interview with a target user to help develop user personas. Supporting documents such as consent forms, audio recordings, and interview transcriptions must also be properly organized and submitted.
Instruction
Project 1
In Project 1, our team focused on the Empathize stage of the design thinking process. Our project is titled Smart Halal Ingredient Analyzer.
As the halal food industry continues to grow, consumers face increasing difficulties in understanding complex ingredient names, additives, and E-numbers found in food products. Existing halal checking methods are often slow and inconvenient, making it difficult to determine whether products are Halal, Haram, or Mushbooh. This can lead to confusion and increase the risk of making incorrect purchasing decisions.
For this project, we selected halal restaurant owners and halal restaurant workers as our target user groups. These users frequently need to verify ingredient sources when purchasing food supplies and raw materials.
During the Empathize stage, we conducted interviews with users from these groups to better understand the challenges they face and their specific needs. Through this research, we gained valuable insights into their daily struggles, such as limited time, difficulty understanding ingredient information, and concerns regarding halal verification accuracy. This process helped us build empathy and provided a strong foundation for developing effective solutions in the next stages of the project.
Project 2
After presenting Task 2, our lecturer, Miss Wong, provided several suggestions for improvement. She advised us to redesign the slide theme and background so that it better reflects the Muslim and halal theme, as the current design looked too plain and monotonous.
She also pointed out that our competitor analysis section appeared cluttered and messy. To improve readability, we were advised to increase the font size, simplify the content, and remove unnecessary information so that the key points could be communicated more clearly.
In addition, the conclusion section was considered too lengthy and should be shortened to make it more concise and impactful. Miss Wong also suggested adding more references in our POV documentation to better support our findings and strengthen the credibility of our design decisions. This feedback helped us understand the importance of clear visual communication and well-supported research in presenting our project effectively.
In Project 2, our team moved into the Define stage of the design thinking process. At this stage, we analyzed and summarized the findings from our user research to clearly identify users’ needs and pain points. We created user personas, POV (Point of View) statements, and HMW (How Might We) questions to better define the problem and discover potential opportunities for meaningful solutions.
In Week 7, we also conducted a Crazy 8s ideation activity, where each team member quickly sketched multiple ideas within a limited time. These sketches were rough and low-fidelity, allowing us to freely explore different concepts without focusing too much on details. This method encouraged fast thinking and creativity, helping us generate a wide range of possible solutions.
Through this ideation process, we were able to compare different ideas, discuss their strengths, and identify the most promising features for further development. This stage helped us transition from understanding the problem to exploring innovative design solutions.
Reflection
Project 1
I gained a better understanding of the Empathize stage in the design thinking process. Before this project, I thought design was mainly about creating solutions quickly, but I learned that understanding users is actually the most important first step.
By interviewing halal restaurant owners and workers, I was able to learn about their real challenges, such as difficulty understanding ingredient names and checking halal status. This helped me realize that designers should not rely only on assumptions but need to listen to users carefully and understand their actual needs.
During this project, teamwork was sometimes challenging because not every team member contributed equally, and some results did not meet our expectations. However, this experience taught me the importance of communication, patience, and cooperation when working in a group.
Overall, Project 1 improved my research, communication, and teamwork skills. It also taught me that good design starts with fully understanding the problem before trying to solve it.
Project 2
I gained a deeper understanding of the Define and Ideate stages of design thinking. I learned how to organize research findings into user personas, POV statements, and HMW questions, which helped me define the problem more clearly and identify possible solution directions.
The Crazy 8s activity was one of the most memorable parts of this project. It encouraged me to think quickly and generate multiple ideas within a short period of time. This helped improve my creativity and made me more confident in idea generation.
I also received valuable feedback from our lecturer and client. Their comments helped me understand that presentation and visual communication are very important. Even with strong ideas, unclear slides or too much information can affect how people understand the project.
Compared to Project 1, our teamwork improved slightly as communication became better, although there is still room for improvement. Overall, Project 2 helped me strengthen my critical thinking, creativity, and ability to refine ideas based on feedback.
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