1. Idea generation:
I came up with too few ideas in the start. Reason for this is I can't escape from my first impression of the solution to the client's brief, which is an information kiosk.
SHOULD DO: Train my brain to come up with a lot of ideas in a short amount of time. Practice San Yen's technique (design different things with 30 circles in short time)
2. Field interview:
I went to The Gardens' JustLife outlet the day before the pitch presentation to interview some of the shop assistants about how they work and who are their customers. I admit I was too lazy to make this move, and it is a very late move.
SHOULD DO: Do this field interview right before the idea generation process, so that the design solution is made to solve existing problems instead of "imagined" problems.
3. Company's brand image:
I did not really consider my solution to the brief to be fitting for JustLife's brand image until San Yen noted this in his sharing session. In the end, I had to modify my solution to fit for the brand image.
SHOULD DO: Research more on the client's company brand image, how they communicate with their customers. Then only start idea generation.
4. Target audience:
Based on the field interview, most customers are of age above 45. Even though I knew this, I had not considered their eyesight issues in my proposed solution.
SHOULD DO: Consider physical issues of the target audience in my design solution. For example in here, I should make my design with clearer and larger font, as for the screen size, it should be bigger than the small screen of iPhone.
5. Interface design:
The interface design for the iPhone app I proposed does not look like it's a mobile app. I did not study much about mobile app's interface design before actually designing it.
SHOULD NOT DO: Design interface based on instinct and own liking. A mobile app should have a mobile app interface.
SHOULD DO: Research on mobile interface design. Design mobile app interface like how it should be.
6. Presentation skills:
I felt very awkward while presenting during the pitch session. It's not how I usually present but I do felt that my presentation did not sound as boring as before.
SHOULD DO: Practice more before the actual pitch. Stay calm and be more natural during the presentation.
7. Communication skills:
During the 1st client meeting, I displayed student-like behavior for not being proactive in the idea discussion. As for the Q&A session after the pitch presentation, I was stuck in speech when I was answering a question thrown to me about how to solve the eyesight issues of their customers.
SHOULD NOT DO: Be passive during discussions. Being defensive of idea is also not good during a pitch presentation. Instead, should be open for suggestions to improve the quality of the proposed idea.
SHOULD DO: Be more open in discussion. Be proactive. When being questioned, be calm, stop and think. Form sentences in head before blurting everything out. This way, the answer will be more structured and easy to understand for the clients.
I came up with too few ideas in the start. Reason for this is I can't escape from my first impression of the solution to the client's brief, which is an information kiosk.
SHOULD DO: Train my brain to come up with a lot of ideas in a short amount of time. Practice San Yen's technique (design different things with 30 circles in short time)
2. Field interview:
I went to The Gardens' JustLife outlet the day before the pitch presentation to interview some of the shop assistants about how they work and who are their customers. I admit I was too lazy to make this move, and it is a very late move.
SHOULD DO: Do this field interview right before the idea generation process, so that the design solution is made to solve existing problems instead of "imagined" problems.
3. Company's brand image:
I did not really consider my solution to the brief to be fitting for JustLife's brand image until San Yen noted this in his sharing session. In the end, I had to modify my solution to fit for the brand image.
SHOULD DO: Research more on the client's company brand image, how they communicate with their customers. Then only start idea generation.
4. Target audience:
Based on the field interview, most customers are of age above 45. Even though I knew this, I had not considered their eyesight issues in my proposed solution.
SHOULD DO: Consider physical issues of the target audience in my design solution. For example in here, I should make my design with clearer and larger font, as for the screen size, it should be bigger than the small screen of iPhone.
5. Interface design:
The interface design for the iPhone app I proposed does not look like it's a mobile app. I did not study much about mobile app's interface design before actually designing it.
SHOULD NOT DO: Design interface based on instinct and own liking. A mobile app should have a mobile app interface.
SHOULD DO: Research on mobile interface design. Design mobile app interface like how it should be.
6. Presentation skills:
I felt very awkward while presenting during the pitch session. It's not how I usually present but I do felt that my presentation did not sound as boring as before.
SHOULD DO: Practice more before the actual pitch. Stay calm and be more natural during the presentation.
7. Communication skills:
During the 1st client meeting, I displayed student-like behavior for not being proactive in the idea discussion. As for the Q&A session after the pitch presentation, I was stuck in speech when I was answering a question thrown to me about how to solve the eyesight issues of their customers.
SHOULD NOT DO: Be passive during discussions. Being defensive of idea is also not good during a pitch presentation. Instead, should be open for suggestions to improve the quality of the proposed idea.
SHOULD DO: Be more open in discussion. Be proactive. When being questioned, be calm, stop and think. Form sentences in head before blurting everything out. This way, the answer will be more structured and easy to understand for the clients.