Major Project I – Project Development

Major Project I — My Design Journey

Graphic Design | September 2026 | Weeks 1–6
Wang Jiheng | 0378904
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media · PRJ64904 Major Project I
Supervisor: Mr. Shamsul Hamimi Ab Rahman · Individual project

LIST

• MIB / Module Requirements
• Project
• Progress
• Slides
• Feedback
• Reflection
• References

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MIB / MODULE REQUIREMENTS

Major Project I covers project research, proposal development, visual exploration and early production. The project will continue into Major Project II. This blog will document my individual Graphic Design project as it develops.

Module Information Booklet

My Major Project I module document is embedded above. The Design Proposition presentation is scheduled for Week 7.

Module Briefing & Guides

• September 2026 Major Project I Briefing
• Non-UI/UX Proposal Guide
• Graphic Design: Major Project I to II Flow Reference

Assessment Overview

• Project Development — 20%: process documentation, research, development and reflection.
• Design Proposition — 30%: design application, technical feasibility, exploration and resource planning.
• Concept Presentation / Project Execution — 40%: concept showcase and media or prototype demonstration.
• E-Portfolio — 10%: final reflection and documentation of the project journey.

Project Management Document

I use my Project Management Document to keep track of consultations, project changes and next steps.

View my Project Management Document

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About My Project

This semester, I am developing UNFILTERED — From Body Signals to Support, a visual communication project for students. My focus is on making everyday messages about stress and body signals easier to notice and understand. I am building on the UNFILTERED identity I created in an earlier Creative Brand Strategy class, while developing new artwork and a clearer communication direction for Major Project I.

This blog follows how my ideas changed from Week 1 to Week 6, including the research, experiments, feedback and design decisions behind the work.

Week 1 — Finding a Direction

I started the module by reviewing the assignment brief and setting up my Project Management Document. I chose to work individually and began looking for a topic that interested me and had room to develop into a larger graphic design project.

One early idea was “What's in This Box?”, a contemporary branding and packaging concept for traditional pastries. I liked the opportunity to explore colour, packaging structure and how familiar products could appeal to younger customers.

Fig. 1. Initial project setup.

Fig. 2. Early pastry-branding proposal.

Week 2 — Exploring the Pastry Idea

I missed the face-to-face class this week, so I continued exploring the idea independently. I looked at traditional and modern packaging, considered how product information could be presented, and started thinking about potential customers. I also reviewed what would be realistic to develop across Major Project I and II.

Fig. 3. Exploring the pastry concept.

Week 3 — Rethinking My Proposal

I developed the pastry proposal and compared packaging from Ming Xiang Tai, Yong Sheng, Kee Wah Bakery and Wing Wah. I was especially interested in how they communicated tradition, gifting and product identity.

When I discussed the idea with my supervisor, he encouraged me to go deeper than packaging appearance and identify a stronger problem to research. That made me rethink my starting point. Instead of choosing a product first, I needed to understand who I was designing for and what the design could actually help them do.

I decided to change direction rather than continue polishing the same packaging proposal.

Fig. 4. Traditional pastry packaging references.

Fig. 5. The first project proposal.

Fig. 6. Shifting from packaging to the design problem.

Week 4 — Returning to UNFILTERED

I revisited UNFILTERED, a campaign I had created for a previous Creative Brand Strategy assignment. It already had a purple visual identity, awareness posters, a Reset Card and a QR-linked mobile guide. I liked the style and felt there was more I could explore with it.

For my Week 4 consultation, I put the earlier work into a direction deck and looked at the experience behind the visuals. I started asking what students actually do when academic work becomes stressful, where they look for help, and how graphic design could make the next step easier to understand.

My supervisor encouraged me to build more context around the idea and think about how each poster, card or digital touchpoint would be used. I prepared a student journey and an interview guide, then started looking at design systems that worked across different formats.

Fig. 7. My earlier UNFILTERED campaign.

Fig. 8. Reset Card and mobile guide from my previous project.

Fig. 9. Early student journey and touchpoint ideas.

Fig. 10. My first interview plan.

Week 5 — Research and Visual Exploration

I organised five short recorded student accounts from 20–21 October and compared the situations they described. Most were about academic work, while one focused on accommodation. I used these early accounts, alongside my drafted research questions, to explore three areas: getting started when work feels stuck, asking others for useful feedback, and understanding where a support message leads.

I also studied existing designs to see how they organise information. The School of Life and IDEO gave me ideas for prompt cards; Ugmonk Analog showed a simple paper-based workflow; and Atlassian, ReachOut and Therapy Notebooks helped me think about connected materials. For visual inspiration, I looked at forpeople's Firefly identity, especially its consistency across different applications.

Fig. 11. Interview questions.

Fig. 12. Five student accounts organised for comparison.

Fig. 13. Card and prompt design references.

Fig. 14. Examples of connected design systems.

Fig. 15. Firefly visual identity reference by forpeople.

I explored three visual directions and developed early concepts for a Next Step Toolkit, Design Feedback Sheet and a “Work feels stuck?” poster. I kept the UNFILTERED purple and lavender, added lime as an accent, and experimented with large typography, rounded shapes and wave graphics.

During consultation, my supervisor liked the visual arrangement and colour direction, but pointed out that the poster did not explain the message or the relationship between the different materials clearly enough. That became my main focus for the next revision: the design needed to communicate, not just look consistent.

Fig. 16. Three visual styles I explored.

Fig. 17. First Next Step Toolkit concepts.

Fig. 18. Early “Work feels stuck?” poster.

Week 6 — Making the Design Clearer

27 October — Exploring the paper toolkit. I worked on an information poster, an A6 Next Step Card and an A5 Design Feedback Sheet. The card explored three possible responses when a task felt stuck: Pause, Review or Ask. The feedback sheet was a separate idea for getting specific comments from another person. Designing these formats helped me think more carefully about what each piece should do.

Fig. 19. How I changed the poster content.

Fig. 20. Exploring how the paper tools could connect.

Fig. 21. An early information-poster direction.

Fig. 22. A6 Next Step Card, both sides.

Fig. 23. A5 Design Feedback Sheet, both sides.

Fig. 24. Overview of the paper-tool concepts.

28–29 October — Refining the main visual direction. I returned to the body-signals message and developed a clearer educational poster alongside a 12-page UNFILTERED brand guideline. I kept the original wave logo and organised the visual system around five colours: Purple #6A3AD5, Lavender #BBBCF4, Lime #DFE958, Paper #FFFBF7 and Ink #3A3A42. I also refined the typography, using Avenir Next for headlines and supporting text.

I redrew and adjusted four vector characters showing neck and shoulder tension, stomach discomfort, sleep changes and headaches. I wanted their expressions, shapes and small details to feel like one illustration family, so I carried the same updated characters into the poster and guideline pages.

Fig. 26. Brand guideline pages 1–4: logo and colour.

Fig. 27. Brand guideline pages 5–8: application and typography.

Fig. 28. Brand guideline pages 9–12: type, colour and characters.

The latest poster uses the headline “A moment to check in.” and introduces the four body signals in a simple grid. I made the subtitle more visible, reduced repeated text and gave the bottom panel one clear instruction. I prepared an editable A4 SVG and an A3-size version for future print checks.

The QR currently opens my earlier One-Minute Reset web guide. My next design task is to make the wording on the poster and the content after scanning work together more naturally.

Fig. 29. Latest body-signals poster.

Supervisor Feedback

My discussions with my supervisor helped me make three key changes: explore a stronger user problem after the pastry proposal, think about the purpose of each UNFILTERED touchpoint, and make the poster message and next step easier to understand.

Preparing for Week 7

The Design Proposition presentation has moved to Week 7. I have an earlier presentation deck as part of my process and have started creating new SVG slides based on the latest artwork. For the new presentation, I want to show the current poster and visual outcomes first, then explain how my research, consultations and revisions led there.

I am organising the presentation around the project recap, changes and reasons, creative and technical details, value for students, and next steps. After presenting, I will organise the deck, working files, related media, Project Management Document and the production and post-production plan through Week 14 for Teams.

Fig. 25. Earlier presentation slides and production timeline.

What I've Learned So Far

The biggest change in my thinking is that I no longer start only with what I want the design to look like. The pastry idea began with packaging, and my first UNFILTERED extension focused heavily on making more branded materials. Through the consultations and revisions, I have started paying more attention to what the viewer understands and what happens after they see the design.

I am happy with the visual direction I have developed, especially the characters, colours and poster layout. My next step is to test how students read the poster, check the QR journey and refine the production details. I want the final work to feel like one useful, connected design project rather than a collection of separate graphics.

Module Documents and Research References

I keep the official project documents and my ongoing work here:

• Major Project I briefing, Non-UI/UX Proposal Guide, and Major Project I–II Flow Reference
• My Project Management Document

Design references: The School of Life — Mood Map and Creative Thinking Cards; Atlassian Project Poster and Roles & Responsibilities; Ugmonk Analog; ReachOut by Yonder; Therapy Notebooks by High Tide; Firefly identity by forpeople; World Brand Design Society and Packaging of the World.