Minor Project - Task 1: Propose an innovative project proposal as a group
25/04/2025 - 23/05/2025 / Week 1 - Week 5
Velicia Raquel Dewi Setiawan | 0369188 | Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Minor Project
JUMPLINK:
- Lecture
- Instruction
- Task 1: Propose an innovative project proposal as a group
- Topic
- Progress
- Final Submission
- Feedback
- Reflection
1. LECTURE
2. INSTRUCTION
3. TASK 1: PROPOSE AN INNOVATIVE PROJECT AS A GROUP
(This blog will mostly tell my personal process, not the group’s. The full process of our group can be seen in the Miro link above.)
For this module, I joined the Night School group, where our client is an organization that provides training for ALC (Alternative Learning Centre) teachers. In the first few weeks, we were tasked with doing contextual research on the Night School program. We were given a brief overview at the start, but it wasn’t enough — we had to dig deeper and collect more information on our own.
Each person in the team researched a different aspect of the program. My focus was on the curriculum and modules used in Night School — understanding what kind of content they offer, how it’s structured, and whether it meets the needs of ALC teachers.
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| Fig 3.1 Contextual Research Week 2 2/05/2025 |
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Research & Feedback
After we each finished our individual research, we presented our findings and got feedback from Mr. Mike. I recorded the session and wrote it out in Miro so that everyone could refer back to it.
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| Fig 3.4 Feedback from Mr Mike Week 4 16/05/2025 |
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Interview Insights
We managed to conduct a few interviews to get deeper insights. Here's a quick recap of each one:
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| Fig 3.6 Interview Insights from Mr Syukur Week 6 30/05/2025 |
- Joined Night School in 2023 (first batch); found training insightful and practical
- Learned to use tools like Magic School and ChatGPT for planning
- Recommends more physical sessions and training for special needs students
- Background: Former UN translator; joined UAIM to support his community
- UAIM offers primary and secondary education; uses Cambridge up to Grade 10
- No science lab, limited resources; uses monitors and videos for science lessons
- Challenges: learning disabilities, language barriers, no exam recognition for refugees
- No sponsors; relies on tuition and small donations
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- Located in Sunway Mentari, established in 2009.
- Reopened in 2022 after closing during MCO; taught online during lockdown.
- Offers Cambridge (IGCSE/IGCCC), Mandarin, and music classes.
- Plans to add GED program for students who struggle with Cambridge syllabus.
- Mission: Provide refugee children with quality, accessible education.
- Operates mainly in English; Chinese used only in language classes.
- Staff: 17 full-time teachers, plus part-time and volunteers (many are alumni).
- Staffing challenges: shortage of qualified teachers and limited recruitment reach.
- In-house training given to paid teachers; volunteers not usually trained.
- Charges school fees to sustain operations; limited sponsorship
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| Fig 3.8 Interview Insights from Blessed Learning Center (ALC Owner) Week 7 6/06/2025 |
- Name: Cassie Seow – Head of Communications, El Shaddai
- El Shaddai founded in 2008; operates multiple centers for refugees and stateless children
- Offers preschool to tertiary education (ages 5–22+); 70 teachers employed
- Teacher types: community teachers, volunteers, retirees, full-time staff
- Hiring criteria vary by level; higher levels require qualified teachers
- Challenges: classroom management, teacher drop-outs, lack of long-term commitment
- Classrooms are mixed-age/nationality; English is the main language
- Students learn English through peer interaction
- Funding from diverse donors: Singapore orgs, Lion’s Club, private donors
- Notes trust issues toward university-led programs in ALC community
Defining the Personas
After gathering data from our interviews, we began creating our personas. At first, we came up with five, but Mr. Mike suggested narrowing it down to three, so we could focus better and not try to satisfy everyone at once.
Our final three personas were:
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ALC Teachers
- ALC Owners
- Sponsors / Funding Parties
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Synthesizing Insights
We gathered and compared insights from all interviews and rewrote the key patterns into clear insight statements:
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ALC teachers lack formal training due to limited resources, language barriers, and high demand for practical, in-person skill development.
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Funding is unstable due to legal barriers, perceived unprofitability, high costs, and lack of sponsor trust.
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Inconsistent curriculum and certification barriers exist because ALCs lack regulation, government recognition, and access to formal exam systems.
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ALCs prefer trusted groups like UNHCR to avoid scams and harmful, unverified programs targeting refugee and undocumented children.
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Inconsistent teaching in ALCs leads to fragmented learning, making progress tracking and educational continuity difficult.
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| Fig 3.10 Personas Week 9 20/06/2025 |
- ALC teachers need flexible, supportive training with recognition because they lack resources, support, and practical, in-person training opportunities.
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| Fig 3.11 Personas Week 9 20/06/2025 |
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How might we support ALC teachers that lack formal training so they can have access to teaching resources, with practical in-person skill development, without any language barriers?
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How might we help convince funding parties to develop trust in ALCs and overcome legal and perception barriers?
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How might we help ALCs overcome the lack of regulation, government recognition, and access to formal exam systems?
Client Presentation & Logo Feedback
We had our first presentation with the client, where we pitched our proposal. Below is a summary of the feedback and critiques we got:
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| Fig 3.12 Personas Week 10 27/06/2025 |
Problem with the Old Logo:
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Lacks emotional impact and clarity
- Needs a stronger identity that communicates hope, trust, and growth
- Must still keep recognizable parts of the original logo
Suggestions:
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Consider adding or updating an owl symbol (wisdom and learning)
- Keep familiar elements for continuity.
- Make the logo something aspirational for refugee educators
Color Justification:
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Blue = Trust – builds credibility with educators and funders
- Orange = Growth – reflects personal/professional development
- Yellow = Hope – symbolizes optimism and a better future
Booklet Advice for Funders:
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Highlight Night School’s impact
- Include testimonials and statistics from teachers who benefited
Website Design Journey
Me and Dea were in charge of the website design. After the first pitch, we received some web-specific feedback from Mr. Mike:
Focus on the idea, not the logistics. Don’t worry about who will build or manage the site — it’s a conceptual design solution.
Website Goals:
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Inform – Share what Night School is, who it's for, and why it matters.
- Teach – Offer access to training content, guides, and toolkits.
- Build Community – Connect ALC teachers through forums, resource sharing, and contact forms.
Keep in Mind:
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Design should clearly show the purpose of Night School.
- Structure the site to be simple, helpful, and empowering for refugee educators.
- Use this direction to guide your slides and wireframes.
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| Fig 3.13 Personas Week 11 4/07/2025 |
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| Fig 3.15 Personas Week 13 18/07/2025 |
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| Fig 3.16 Personas Week 13 18/07/2025 |
2. Web Design
The next week, we got more feedback from Mr. Mike, specifically about the website design. He said that the site still looked too much like a template, it felt a bit generic and didn’t really reflect the unique identity of Night School. He suggested that instead of just using geometric shapes as decoration, we should try using them as part of the layout itself. Like, make them actually structure the content, not just float around in the background.
Starting the First Website Prototype
At that point, me and Dea had already started working on the first prototype. We had decided on the main contents of the website — what sections were needed, what kind of info we had to include, and how we wanted to structure the flow.
The wireframe we made was very basic at first. Since the logo wasn't finalized yet, and we hadn’t locked down the full visual direction, we just kept things simple. We knew we’d make it better later once we had more on the branding.
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| Fig 3.18 Web Wireframe Week 9 20/06/2025 |
Facebook Group: Teacher Forum
Aside from the website, we also created a Facebook group for ALC teachers. The idea was to give them a space where they could ask questions, share tips, or just help each other out.
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| Fig 3.19 Forum Wireframe Week 9 20/06/2025 |
Moving to High-Fidelity Design
After the first client presentation, we had to work on the high-fidelity (hi-fi) version of the website — this time with full colors, visuals, and layout polish.
In the beginning, we just added colors to the wireframe we already had. It was a quick upgrade, just to start exploring how the site would look with the actual brand colors. But after the logo was done and we received the final visual elements (especially the geometric shapes), that’s when we started really changing up the layout.
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| Fig 3.21 Web with Color Week 11 4/07/2025 |
Content & Structure Changes
At the same time, we also reviewed the content. There were some sections that felt repetitive or unnecessary, so we removed those. Then we worked on creating a clearer information architecture — figuring out the best way to organize all the sections so it flows better for users.
That helped us see which content needed to be grouped together, what pages made sense, and how to keep everything simple but still informative.
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| Fig 3.22 Information Architecture Week 11 4/07/2025 |
Reworking the Visual Layout
Originally, I was using the geometric shapes just as decoration — kind of like how they were used in the booklet design.
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Me, Dea, Sahibur, and Sherin kept trying out different versions — changing how the shapes were used, testing how they looked next to text, and making sure they didn’t distract from the content. There were moments where it didn’t look great or felt off-balance, but we kept tweaking it until we got a version that felt cohesive and visually interesting.
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| Fig 3.24 Updated Web Layout Week 14 25/07/2025 |
Final Design
Eventually, we landed on the final design for the website. It felt much more aligned with the Night School identity. The layout was more dynamic, the shapes worked well with the flow, and the whole thing felt more like a custom-built solution, not just another template.
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| Fig 3.26 Final Web Design Week 14 25/07/2025 |
4. Feedback
5. Reflection
1. Experience
Designing the website was a learning process. At first, me and Dea worked on the wireframe with only basic content since the logo and visual style weren’t ready. Once we had the logo and geometric elements, we started updating the layout. After Mr. Mike’s feedback about the site looking too much like a template, our team (me, Dea, Sahibur, and Sherin) experimented with using shapes more meaningfully. We also created a Facebook group for teachers to interact, adding a nice community feature.
2. Observation
I noticed how important feedback is—it pushed us to think more deeply about the design. The project moved faster once we had a clearer visual direction. Working as a team also made a big difference. Everyone contributed ideas, especially when exploring layouts and how to use the geometric shapes beyond just decoration.
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