Major Project 1
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Information Design GCD 60504
Major Project 1
Overview
> Instructions
- Proposal Development
- User Interviews & User Personas
- Information Architecture Map
- Design Guidelines
- Project Deliverables
> Feedback
> Reflection
Instructions
Proposal Development
Me and my group members came up with several potential topics at first, after discussing, we decided on the topic of the Malaysian local food guide app for this project. Although there are some existing review apps, such as Google Maps and Rednote, however, we found that those apps often fall short in helping users, especially tourists and even locals from other states to discover authentic local cuisine.
This observation led us to envision developing an app that specifically caters to food lovers seeking out authentic local dishes and less-known food spots. To reflect this focus, we decided to name our app “MakanBuddy App”.
Once we had identified our topic, we researched and analysed the existing apps and identified their limitations. This research guided us in developing our proposal, ensuring that the MakanBuddy App would offer a user-friendly experience, highlight the rich diversity of Malaysian cuisine, and provide personalised recommendations and easy navigation for locals and tourists.
User Interviews & User Personas
Moving on to the user research stage, we are instructed to find 3 interviewees per member. The interview was conducted via Zoom Meeting, and the questions were divided into two versions: one tailored for local users and another for international users, depending on their country.
For me, I interviewed Rachel, Felicia and Terence. We not only recorded the interviews, but also captured their full responses in a Google Doc spreadsheet, in order for us to analyse the collected data to understand the user insights.
Click HERE to view the full answer Google Doc sheet.
After the data collection process, all the group members uploaded their collected raw data into Figjam, a collaborative online tool designed for visual brainstorming. We synthesised the data by creating an affinity diagram, which helped us to identify patterns in the information we collected, allowing us to summarize the user preferences and needs.
** The embedded PDF could not be fully loaded, suggest to open with Adobe Acrobat to view the complete and clear PDF file
We created the user personas and user journey maps based on the data collected from the interview. Every member participated in the process, and we divided the tasks to ensure the project was efficient. For me, I was in charge of the local user journey map by analyzing the specific behaviours, pain points, and motivations of users within the target community.
Information Architecture Map
In this stage, we started to detail the features of the MakanBuddy app and explore more potential features. Also, we try to categorize the features so that the overall flow of using this app is reasonable.
Design Guidelines
We developed visual design guidelines for the MakanBuddy app. These guidelines include colour schemes, typography, icon sets, and app icon design to ensure that the app interface is unified and user-friendly.
The initial sketches of the app wireframe, which completed by each group member.
Project Deliverables
LINK to view
LINK to view
LINK to view
Feedback
Ms. Wong asked us to propose our initial preliminary ideas for this module, where we finalized and narrowed down our options to two ideas: a Food Reviews & Guide app and a Smart Parking app. After presenting both ideas to her, she advised us to avoid the Smart Parking app, as many other groups had already proposed similar concepts, and the scope was too broad. She mentioned that the Food Reviews & Guide app was a slightly better choice, but she encouraged us to clearly define its strengths and uniqueness compared to existing platforms like Google Maps or other social media apps. To refine our idea further, she recommended that we conduct additional research and discuss our approach in more depth.
Week 2
Ms. Wong advised us to narrow down our Food Guide app by focusing on a single concept. After further discussion, we decided to specialize in state-specialty cuisines, refining our app’s scope to Malaysian authentic local food, primarily promoting traditional dishes from each state. Once we finalized this idea, Ms. Wong approved it and instructed us to proceed with user research, including interviews and other relevant methods. She also reminded us to ensure that our interviewees align with our target audience to gather meaningful insights.
Ms. Wong approved our user interview questions after we presented two sets of interview questions: 10 questions for local interviewees and 10 questions for international interviewees. We also explained our reasoning for having two sets of questions, as these two groups face different challenges and approaches when discovering local food. She then instructed us to proceed with the user interviews, after which we could work on the interview transcripts and affinity diagrams to compile and analyze the information gathered from the 12 interviewees. Additionally, she recommended synthesizing the data after collecting all responses to facilitate better comparison and identification of common insights.
Week 4
Ms. Wong asked us to include the raw data input for the user interview answers, before come to the synthesis data. For the user personas, we have only included basic information about the users. Ms. Wong suggested that we add a section that delves deeper into the users' habits, preferences, and needs to enhance our understanding of them. Also, the user journey map need to be revised too. The map contains five stages: Exploration, Consideration, Onboarding, Engagement, and Loyalty. While the content for the last three stages is acceptable, however, the first two stages are incorrectly written. These stages should reflect the user before using the MakanBuddy app, not describe users who are already using the app.
Week 5
In Week 5, Dr. Wong suggests that we should move the user personas to Figjam for better visualization and organization. Additionally, our ppt animations should be removed to maintain a cleaner and more professional presentation. For the slides, we should use pickup point to clearly present the content. To enhance clarity, each user persona should be presented on a separate slide. Furthermore, the summary of interviewee insights should be highlighted to emphasize key findings. Our user journey map need to modify specifically by changing "Awareness" to "Exploration" to better reflect user actions before using the app. Lastly, user habits should be incorporated into the user persona to provide a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior.
Ms Wong gave us feedback mainly on our User Flow Chart and Presentation Slides. First, she mentioned that the User Flow Chart needs some changes. When users log in, they should go to the Home Page first instead of other pages. Other than that, our User Flow Chart is complete, so no further changes are needed. For the Presentation Slides, she suggested removing the excessive details. We don’t need to present everything, like the Interview Questions and Interview Data Summary. Instead, we should focus on the key points to make our presentation clear and concise.
Week 7
All the lecturers advised us to refine the market positioning of our MakanBuddy app. Mr. Shamsul pointed out that similar functions could be achieved through Facebook groups and other platforms, while Mr. Razif raised concerns about user retention, questioning how we could keep users engaged. He suggested looking at Duolingo, a popular language-learning app, to understand how it successfully attracts and retains users. Our group realized that we had not clearly highlighted our app's unique selling points, making them less understandable. To address this, we incorporated new pages in our final submission and presentation slides to clarify our app’s uniqueness. We also responded to the lecturers' feedback and Q&A session questions by providing well-structured answers to ensure our concept was more compelling and well-defined.
Reflection
Developing the MakanBuddy app has been an insightful journey that allowed me to explore the challenges and opportunities in the food discovery space in Malaysia. Through user research, I gained a deeper understanding of how local and international users navigate food recommendations, revealing key pain points such as decision fatigue, unreliable reviews, and difficulty finding authentic local food. This reinforced the need for a community-driven platform that emphasizes trustworthy, user-generated content and seamless navigation.
Overall, this project deepened my understanding of user-centered design, digital food discovery trends, and app development processes. Going forward, improving user engagement strategies and incorporating more interactive elements will be key to increasing the app’s effectiveness. MakanBuddy is more than just a food discovery tool, it’s a platform that connects people to Malaysia’s rich culinary heritage in an engaging and accessible way.
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