Project 1
Description
In this project, you will work in small team to produce a design process, digital media, and documentation. Your team will build its own project by setting meeting agendas, creating a concept pitch, develop and use a design process/sprint structure, track and document progress using a project blog, and produce project documentation. The project outcomes can take the form of any combination of digital media formats including 2D, 3D, video and motion design, interactive and web, UX/UI app design, and product design. The projects could emphasize a wide range of approaches including tool building, product or service, marketing or awareness campaigns, calls to action, open-source tools, traditional or experimental digital story telling, speculative design, wayfinding, identity systems, toolkits, educational materials, etc.
Avoid basing your proejct around existing intellectual properties (movies, comics, games, etc.) unless you do something conceptually sophisticated like a parody, deconstruction, etc.
Please read through project categories to learn more about the types of projects possible to produce and their production needs. While the media and form of your project is up to you, the following focus word should be used as a jumping off point for your project's concept.
The project's concept focus word is: "Inclusive"
Inclusive Design is a methodology, born out of digital environments, that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with a range of perspectives.
— Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit
Inclusive design doesn’t mean you’re designing one thing for all people. You’re designing a diversity of ways to participate so that everyone has a sense of belonging.
— Kat Holmes for FastCompany
"Inclusive design" is a specific methedology that is related to accessability (an attribute of any design) and univeral design (one-size-fits all); the FastCompany artilce above addresses the differences between these terms.
For this project, you can interpret the theme of "inclusive" however you see fit. You don't have to follow existing guidelines for inclusive design, but may wish to read about them. Think about unique perspectives, diverse audiences, and edge cases. Products like the Swiss Army Knife and the OXO Good Grips peeler were developed for specific users, but prooved desireable for larger audiences.
Further Inspiration:
- Xbox Adaptive controller
- Humaaans illustratin design library
- Braile Neue font
- How to begin designing for diversity by Boyuan Gao and Jahan Mantin of Project Inkblot
- The 7 principles of inclusive design by the National Disability Assocation
- Microsoft Inclusive Design toolkit
- Design is diversity by Fabricio Teixeira (and related articles at UX Collective)
- The Moral Responsibility of Cinema: The Politics of Representation and Expectation by Tat Wei Lee
Project overview
The project will consist of five phases:
- Phase 1: Gather and organize
- Phase 2: Develop a design sprint
- Phase 3: Pitch
- Phase 4: Sprint!
- Phase 5: Document
Research starting points:
Related to concept focus word:
Global issues:
Objectives
The purpose of this project is to help you:
- Gain experience working in a design team
- Practice developing a design process
- Practice evaluating and reflecting on the effectiveness of a design process
- Select and test design methods, techniques, and tools to produce digitally designed, critically engaged, and systemically considered creative explorations and outcomes
- Produce a detailed project document
- Practice publishing skills by keeping a team project blog
Team conflict
Though working on a design team as part of a class project can not fully mimic real-world project teams you will encounter or already have encountered, it should suffice for helping you understand the general concepts and ideas. Finding a team that meshes immediately and is good at resolving internal conflict makes for a very productive and gratifying project experience. Unfortunately, when this doesn't happen, team dynamics can be counterproductive. If you run into any issues with your team members that cannot be resolved, please communicate with them with your instructor so they may step in and help mediate the situation.
Rubric
This final project is graded as a team. All members will receive the same grade.
All project deliverables must be met for the project to be graded. A non-submission or non-completion for any project phase is considered an incomplete project.
- Produced and submitted project deliverables according to requirements: 40%
- Project outcomes:
- Concept 20%
- Craft 20%
- Design process 20%