Minor Project | Final Compilation & Reflection
24/9/25 - 30/12/25 | Week 1 - 15
Iman Mikudim | 0338004 | Section 4
Course Name | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Final Compilation & Reflection
SECTIONS
- Week 1 & 2: Project Introduction
- Week 3: Choosing Client & Our First Meeting
- Week 4: Interviews & User Groups
- Week 5: Synthesising Interview Findings & Affinity Mapping
- Week 6: Identifying Insights & Preparing for the Define Stage
- Week 7: Narrowing the Problem
- Week 8: Crazy 8's & Direction Exploration
- Week 9: First Presentation & Feedback
- Week 10: Revising & Refining the Direction Based on Feedback
- Week 11: First Digital Prototype & Internal Testing
- Week 12: Iteration & Prototype Refinement
- Week 13: Final Refinement, User Testing & Presentation Prep
- Week 14: Final User Feedback & Presentation Preparation
INSTRUCTIONS
Week 1 & 2 | Project Introduction
Week 1 mainly revolved around getting familiar with the module. The briefing gave a good overview of how the semester would run, what the project expectations were, and how our work would be assessed. What stood out to me was the emphasis on process over final outcomes — meaning research, progress, and development would carry a lot of weight. That session helped me understand what I needed to prepare for and how to approach the weeks ahead.
By Week 2, the next step was forming our project team. We were encouraged to work with people who had different strengths and perspectives, so the group could tackle the project more effectively.
After everyone shared a bit about their backgrounds and what they could contribute, we eventually confirmed a seven-member team, each with our own role to play:
- Jesslyn Octavia Tjong (ID: 0374562) – UI/UX
- Gwendalyn Firly Bong (ID: 0374580) – UI/UX
- Ummehani Kaderbhai (ID: 0377885) – Graphic Design (GRPH)
- Tristan V. Sleep (ID: 0365120) – Animation (ANIM)
- Wang Yiming (ID: 0379392) – Immersive Media (IMRS)
- Gabriela Natalie Wibowo (ID: 0357130) – Entrepreneurship (ENTR)
-
Iman Mikudim (ID: 0338004) – UI/UX
Week 3 | Choosing Client & Our First Meeting
After our team was set, we had to decide on a client to work with. We ended up choosing CocoKami, mainly because the name instantly grabbed our attention — it felt fun, light, and memorable. That alone made us curious about how their coconut-based products could be positioned in a way that feels more relatable to young adults.
Later that week, Gwendalyn, Tristan, and Jesslyn attended the first meeting with CocoKami. They shared what the brand is about, why it was created, and their overall mission, which centres around using coconut to support healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.
They also got the chance to sample CocoKami’s products — things like cooked coconut meat with gochujang, along with their coconut water. Tasting the products helped the team understand the flavour, texture, and versatility of coconut, beyond its usual image as just a drink. That experience gave us a clearer sense of the brand before we moved into deeper research and idea development.
At the same time, we began
our initial desk research
by going through CocoKami’s website and
social platforms. This helped us get
familiar with
their current branding, product
lineup, and overall direction
as a brand.
Fig 1.1
Initial Proposed Ideas
Week 4 | Interviews & User Groups
By Week 4, we shifted into the Empathy Stage, where the goal was to really understand users instead of relying on assumptions. As a group, we carried out nine interviews in total, divided across three different user segments, and each of us focused on a specific audience:
- Health / Food Science–interested users were interviewed by Ummehani and Jesslyn
- Plant-based users were handled by Yiming, Gabriela, and Gwendalyn
- Active lifestyle users were interviewed by Tristan and me
These groups were chosen because they each represent overlapping priorities — like being health-conscious, caring about sustainability, or having an active daily routine. Our interview questions explored day-to-day eating habits, drink preferences, impressions of coconut-based products, and what shapes their trust and buying decisions.
Once we started reviewing the
responses, a few early patterns
stood out:
people were very aware of sugar
levels, many preferred
natural and less processed
products, and opinions on coconut as
something to consume regularly
were
quite mixed. These initial insights gave us
a good foundation to start sorting
our data and prepare for synthesis
in the upcoming weeks.
Interview videos Gdrive link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wZ9d8lJzgrX35X16dCYqQbxM4H5Dg2rS
Interview transcripts Gdrive link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bR7v_rIOR_smo_au_v6EUHeRZ4Pqeewx
Week 5 | Synthesising Interview Findings & Affinity Mapping
In Week 5, once all nine interviews were completed, we shifted our focus to making sense of the data we had gathered. Instead of looking at each interview separately, we combined everything as a team to spot shared insights and patterns across the three user groups.
We started by pulling out notable quotes, recurring behaviours, concerns, and opinions from the interviews. Using affinity mapping, we organised these points into clusters, which helped us visually identify repeated themes and connections. To keep things structured, we created separate affinity groupings for each audience:
- Health / Food Science–focused users
- Plant-based users
- Active lifestyle users
Week 6 | Identifying Insights & Preparing for the Define Stage
In Week 6, we took our affinity maps a step further and began turning clustered observations into actionable insights. Rather than just listing problems, we focused on understanding why users felt the way they did.
Some key takeaways included:
- Coconut is more trusted in its fresh or natural form than in packaged products
- Users want healthier options but not at the expense of taste or convenience
- Coconut is rarely considered a primary functional product, especially for protein or performance
- Students are price-sensitive, even when they care about long-term health
These insights
showed us that
the main
challenge wasn’t
the product
itself, but
rather
how
coconut-based
products are
positioned,
communicated,
and
incorporated
into daily
routines.
Week 7 | Narrowing the Problem
In Week 7, we officially moved into the Define Stage. After synthesising all our interview findings, the goal was to narrow down our research into clear, actionable problem statements.
As a team, we revisited our affinity maps and insights and started asking deeper questions:
- What is the real problem users are facing?
- What can CocoKami realistically address?
- Which direction feels meaningful rather than forced?
Through this process, we created several problem statements and “How Might We” questions, focusing on key themes such as:
- Making coconut-based products more relevant for everyday use
- Balancing health, taste, and affordability for young adults
- Building trust and transparency around coconut-based products
- Positioning coconut as more than just a drink or occasional ingredient
This stage helped us realise that the project wasn’t just about
creating something new, but about
finding a direction that made sense and felt purposeful.
Week 8 | Crazy 8's & Direction Exploration
In Week 8, we entered the Ideation Stage. Using the Crazy 8s method, each team member sketched out multiple ideas individually before coming together to share and discuss them as a group.
Our concepts covered a variety of formats, including:
- Coconut-based protein bars and energy gels
- Functional drinks for hydration and recovery
- Snacks, desserts, and café-style products
- Campus activations, pop-ups, and digital engagement ideas
Rather than picking ideas solely based on creativity, we continuously referred back to our research and problem statements. We evaluated each concept by asking:
- Does it solve a real user need?
- Does it align with CocoKami’s brand and existing products?
- Is it practical and accessible for young adults in terms of price and convenience?
By the end of the week, we were leaning toward
new product development
as a possible direction, while still keeping an
open mind
and recognising that the idea would need
stronger reasoning and structure
moving forward.
Week 9 | First Presentation & Feedback
In Week 9, we delivered our first presentation. Although only Jesslyn and Gwendalyn were able to present in person, the whole team contributed by summarising all the work completed so far, from research and interviews to insights, problem statements, and early ideation.
The main feedback highlighted that our aim and goals needed stronger alignment. While the research itself was solid, the connection between our findings and proposed direction wasn’t clear enough. Specifically, we were advised to revisit our executive summary and make sure everything presented clearly supported our overall intent.
After the presentation, we also received email feedback from Ms Yule, CEO of CocoKami, which helped clarify expectations further. She emphasised that the core of the project is about imagining new possibilities that encourage people to incorporate coconuts and its byproducts into daily life.
Ms Yule acknowledged that new product development—such as a protein bar, gel, or beverage—was a strong direction. However, she stressed that the focus shouldn’t be on perfecting the recipe or taste. Instead, the priority was the completeness of our storytelling, which should clearly explain:
- Why we chose a specific product type (e.g., why a protein bar?)
- How it complements CocoKami’s existing product line
- Where the product would realistically be sold
- How the product would look and feel
- What kind of nutritional profile it should aim for (without needing precise scientific accuracy)
The feedback made it clear that our next step was to
strengthen the logic and narrative behind our
concept, ensuring that every decision was
grounded in our research and insights.
Week 10 | Revising & Refining the Direction Based on Feedback
In Week 10, our focus shifted to refining our ideas based on the feedback from the first presentation. After reviewing both the in-class comments and Ms Yule’s email, we realised the main issue wasn’t a lack of ideas, but the lack of clarity in how our research supported the direction we wanted to take.
As a group, we returned to our problem statements, insights, and early concepts to reassess which directions genuinely reflected our research findings and CocoKami’s brand values. We critically evaluated each idea and asked whether it could be justified through user needs, rather than just creativity or personal preference. This helped us narrow our focus and remove concepts that felt less grounded or harder to explain with confidence.
During this stage, we put extra effort into strengthening our narrative structure. Instead of treating research, insights, and concepts as separate elements, we worked on connecting them into a cohesive storyline — clarifying why a new product direction made sense, how it addressed user concerns around health, trust, and everyday relevance, and how it could realistically fit within CocoKami’s current ecosystem.
By the end of Week 10, we had a clearer and more focused direction to build on. Even though the concept was still developing, the reasoning behind it felt stronger and more defensible, giving us a solid foundation to move into the prototyping phase in the weeks ahead.
Week 11 | First Digital Prototype & Internal Testing
In Week 11, we started developing our first digital prototype to turn our refined concept into something more concrete. The goal wasn’t to create a final product yet, but to visualise how it could look, feel, and function in a real context.
We explored aspects such as product format, early visual identity, and how the product would fit within CocoKami’s existing lineup. This included initial decisions about packaging direction, usage scenarios, and where young adults would naturally come across the product — for example, on campus, in convenience stores, or as part of everyday routines.
Alongside building the prototype, we carried out internal testing within the team to spot conceptual and storytelling gaps. We asked ourselves whether the prototype communicated its purpose clearly, whether it aligned with our research insights, and if the narrative felt coherent rather than forced.
This stage helped us pinpoint areas that needed further refinement and reinforced the importance of clarity and consistency before moving into more advanced prototyping and external user testing in the following weeks.
Week 12 | Iteration & Prototype Refinement
In Week 12, we worked on refining our initial digital prototype through an iterative design process. Building on what we created in Week 11, the aim was to evaluate how clearly our concept communicated its purpose and whether it still aligned with the insights gathered during earlier research.
We revisited the prototype with our key findings in mind, especially users’ concerns around health perception, ingredient transparency, and everyday practicality. Several elements were adjusted to improve clarity and reduce confusion — including refining the product format and visual hierarchy so the core idea could be understood at a glance without extra explanation.
Instead of adding more features, we focused on simplifying and strengthening the concept. Anything that felt unnecessary or distracting was removed, while elements that supported trust, accessibility, and ease of use were prioritised. We also reconsidered how the product would realistically fit into young adults’ daily routines, ensuring the prototype felt believable within CocoKami’s brand ecosystem.
By the end of Week 12, the concept became more focused and coherent. This iteration stage helped us bridge the gap between an early exploratory prototype and a clearer design direction, setting us up for final refinement and presentation in the weeks ahead.
Week 13 | Final Refinement, User Testing & Presentation Prep
In Week 13, our main priority was to finalise the prototype and validate it through targeted user testing, while also starting to prepare presentation materials. Building on the refinements from Week 12, we made sure the prototype communicated the concept clearly, stayed grounded in user insights, and maintained values such as trust, transparency, and everyday practicality.
We ran user testing sessions with participants from our target audience, gathering feedback on usability, visual clarity, product messaging, and perceived value. Users pointed out which parts were instantly clear and which needed small adjustments. Using this feedback, we made targeted refinements, fine-tuning the layout, visual hierarchy, and interactive elements, while keeping the core concept and brand identity consistent.
At the same time, we began creating presentation slides to showcase both the prototype and commercial materials. A key task was translating the refined prototype and multiple commercial posters into visual storytelling. Each poster highlighted different product benefits and perspectives, while staying consistent in branding, messaging, and aesthetics, making it easier for the audience to understand the value proposition from multiple angles.
By the end of Week 13, we had a polished, user-tested prototype, a set of communication materials, and draft presentation slides ready. This stage acted as the bridge between development and presentation, allowing us to deliver a credible, engaging, and well-supported design solution within CocoKami’s brand ecosystem.
Below are the final posters Ummehani designed based on our products：
Week 14 | Final User Feedback & Presentation Preparation
In Week 14, the focus shifted to consolidating insights from the final round of user testing and polishing the prototype into a presentation-ready state. Building on the progress made in Week 13, feedback from participants who interacted with the refined prototype and commercial posters was reviewed closely. Their input covered usability, clarity of messaging, visual appeal, and the overall user experience, helping us identify what resonated with the audience and what still needed slight refinement.
Based on this feedback, we made targeted adjustments to further improve the prototype. Most changes involved fine-tuning the visual hierarchy, interactions, and messaging clarity, while still maintaining the core concept and brand identity. These refinements made the prototype more intuitive and impactful, ensuring that its value could be understood at a glance when presented to stakeholders.
At the same time, we finalized the presentation slides, incorporating prototype visuals, commercial posters, and notable user feedback to create a clear narrative. The presentation was structured to walk through the entire journey—from initial research and early iterations to the final polished concept—highlighting how design decisions were grounded in real insights and continuous testing.
By the end of Week 14, we had a fully polished and user-validated prototype, a complete set of commercial materials, and a finalized presentation ready to deliver. This stage ensured that both the design solution and its accompanying narrative were cohesive, visually compelling, and aligned with user expectations and CocoKami’s brand identity.
Progressive Presentation Slides
Fig 1.12 Progressive Presentation Slides
Final Presentation Slides
