Reflective Report
Across these five tasks, I became more aware that design is not only about creating a final visual outcome. It is also about observation, research, experimentation, making, and critical judgement. Each task helped me look at design differently and become more confident in my skills and thinking.
The first task improved my digital skills, especially in Illustrator. I had avoided using it because I felt behind and assumed it would take ages to learn. Because I had to practise regularly, after only a few days I felt more comfortable. I realised I had made Illustrator seem much scarier in my head than it was. Becoming more confident with it was a relief, and I am grateful that the task pushed me to stop avoiding something I needed to learn.
Document a Day was probably my favourite task. Observing what people naturally do with their hands made me notice behaviours I would normally ignore. I found myself asking many “why” questions: Why do we always need to hold something? Why are phones constantly in our hands? Is this because of our environment, the products around us, habit, or something psychological? It also made me realise that I do many of these same things unconsciously. The task showed me how much can come from slowing down and paying attention to everyday behaviour.
The AirPods user-testing task developed this further. I originally wanted to investigate whether age influenced usability, but after observing and interviewing three participants, I realised that age alone could not explain their behaviour. Familiarity, confidence, habits and personal preferences were also important. An unexpected finding was that none of the participants regularly used the built-in controls, which revealed a broader UX issue I had not planned to investigate. This taught me that research does not always confirm assumptions, and sometimes unexpected findings are more interesting.
A Time for Making changed how I thought about the relationship between design and making. I liked seeing makers who were genuinely happy to take their time and become absorbed in the process. Money and customers were still part of their work, but financial reward was not the main reason they made things. It made me appreciate enjoying the process itself rather than always rushing toward a final outcome.
Finally, the Creative AI task made me much more critical about AI in design. Even after detailed prompts and refinement, I still was not completely satisfied with the result. The process became frustrating rather than enjoyable, and I realised I would rather spend that time developing the idea myself. AI was useful for generating possibilities quickly, but it also produced clichés and generic solutions. For me, something important was missing: the enjoyment of actually designing. Experimenting, struggling, changing things and reaching an outcome is part of what makes design meaningful.
Overall, these tasks made me more confident, observant and willing to question my assumptions. I now see design less as producing something attractive and more as a process of looking, asking why, testing, making and refining.