Labels

Minor Project | Group 10 Yubari Expedio Compilation

25/4/2024 - 25/7/2025 (Week 1 - Week 14)
Nadia Chong Wen | 0355736 | Bachelor's of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Minor Project | Group 10 Yubari Expedio Compilation

Table of Contents

  1. Lecture Notes
  2. Instructions
  3. Task Progress
  4. Feedback
  5. Reflection

Lecture Notes

All lecture notes were done in MyTimes. 

Instruction

Important Links:

Task Progress

Week 1 / Forming a Group & Topic Selection

In the first week of class, we were introduced to this module and was provided a detailed briefing on the upcoming projects we could pick. 

We were tasked with applying design thinking to solve real-world problems in collaboration with an industry partner. The groups were given the ability to choose a company or brand and propose creative solutions for the clients there.

We were instructed to form a group from different specializations but our group ended up being quite interesting. There was Jessie and Pricillia who was from Entertainment Design, and then there's Nicole, Shanzi (Zhi Xuen), and Noelle (Yu Xuen) from UI/UX Design (Also my specialization). We ended up appointing Nicole as our group leader.

Our group decided to work on the product Yubari: Self-Watering Pot by Expedio. We greeted each other for the first time through Whatsapp. Our group leader, Nicole, contacted the client via LinkedIn to establish communication. Meanwhile, the rest of us began our assigned tasks of doing research on the background of Yubari.

Figure 3.1 Expedio Project Review

Week 2 / Contextual Research and Client Meeting Preparation

For this week, Mr. Mike shared the meeting schedule with the client. Our discussion with the client would take place on May 5th, 2025. We were also given a Miro Board and Project Tracking Document which was to be filled by our group in order to track our progress easily. 

In order to work more efficiently, we all chose a specific area to research on for the research we needed to do. Each of the members selected a different task. In the end, I selected Interview Questions to Ask Users.

Figure 3.2 Task Allocation - Similar Social Media Content

For my part, I initially made a set of questions in a google document since I was initially unsure on what the client wants exactly at first so decided to wait until the next week to continue on.

Figure 3.3 First Draft of Questions

Week 3 / Competitor Research Deep Dive and SWOT Analysis

For Week 3, the discussion meeting was held. My teammates attended the meeting and took notes on what was said during the discussion. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend as I had a class that clashed with the meeting time. 

Figure 3.4 Meeting Documentation

For this week's class, we got feedback from Dr. Mike on our research. He told my teammates that we need to do some research about the identity of Expedio and Yubari's target audience. We needed to know who are the competitors to Yubari and identify the strength and weakness of Yubari for comparison.

After their class, I met up with the rest of our group since we had a meeting in campus to discuss our work. Nicole divided our work to a few groups of people. Shanzi, Pricillia, and me were now working on the interview questions for Toru (our client) and users as well as making surveys.  

Week 4 / Contextual Research and Client Meeting Preparation

After the interview, Pricillia and Jessie helped make the survey questions for people to ask about what they would want from Yubari and in the end we ended up witht this.

Figure 3.5 Interview Questions to ask Users

The questions in the survey focuses on what the users would want from Yubari in order for them to get invested and interested in the product itself. The responses gathered from this will allow us to understand what users would want from Yubari as a product.

Figure 3.6 Questions Made

The questions were divided into two parts. Face to face questions to ask our client and the other for the online survey that we plan on sending out. The Survey's Link is here.

Week 5 / User Persona and Visiting Expedio Design

For Week 5, the goals were split between finalizing our user personas, sharing the surveys, and gaining firsthand insights into the Yubari product through a site visit. During class, Mr. Mike reviewed our initial personas and offered constructive feedback. 

On the 23rd of May,  Jessie, Pricillia, Nicole, and Tracy visited the Expedio Studio to meet Toru, the designer behind Yubari. The visit gave them valuable, hands-on exposure to the product’s design, features, and intended user experience of Yubari. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the visit since I had gotten extremely sick around that time. (Which I'm really sad about since there was a cat.)

Figure 3.7 Selfie of Groupmates
Figure 3.8 Yubari Pot
Figure 3.9 Expedio Cat

During the visit, Toru introduced them to the Yubari self-watering pot and its three color options—pink, green, and lime. He demonstrated how the self-watering system functions of the pot and explained that while the current batch features succulents, future versions will include herbs to enhance both usability and sensory experience.

The team also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Wong, the co-founder of Expedio, who shared the company’s backstory and vision. From this visit, it became clear that Expedio’s goal is to create a lifestyle community around Yubari, placing strong importance on visual branding, collectibility, and encouraging user-generated content.

Week 6 / Survey Result and Data Analysis

This week, our survey managed to surpass 85 responses, providing us with a strong dataset to start detailed analysis. Jessie, Pricillia, and I worked together to uncover key trends in user behaviors, preferences, and feedback within the data from the respondents while, the rest of the team worked on updating and refining the user personas to ensure they reflected the insights gathered from the survey data.

Figure 3.10 Survey Data Analysis

Week 7 / Data Summary

For this week, all our members had to see and choose what are the top 5 findings in the Insight Discovery Part of the Miro Board.

Figure 3.11 Insight Discovery

I also helped out with some of the slides.

Week 8 / Problem Statement, Ideation and Art Direction

There was no physical class this week because of the self-study midterm break but Dr. Mike arranged a check-in session on Microsoft Teams to keep track of our project’s progress. During this meeting, the work we have done was reviewed. What was focused on was the problem statement of our Yubari, “How Might We” (HMW) questions, and all the overall project goals. 

Nicole led the discussion as the team leader to ensure we stayed aligned and ready for the next steps.

Figure 3.12 The Problem Statement

During the check in, Dr. Mike also left some feedback in the form of sticky notes.  The feedback was on some of the things that needed to be revised. After that, we were divided us into 2 groups which is for Miro and Proposal Slides.

Figure 3.13 Splitting Groups

Here are the two groups:

  • Miro Team: Nicole, Tracy, Me
  • Slides Team: Noelle (Yu Xuen), Shanzi (Zhi Xuan), Jessie, Pricillia

I chose to do the Miro Team since I felt that I haven't been helping out in the Miro Board as much as everyone else so I wanted to contribute to it. I chose User Journey Map in order to familiarize myself of what exactly it means to have do one and got to work. 

I relied on the information done by Tracy (Empathy Map & User Stories) in order to make sure that the user journey that I was writing fit the user personas that was being placed in key points.

Figure 3.14 Empathy Map and User Stories

With this, I completed the User Journey Map from the data of the Empathy Map and stories as well as the interview questions from the respective personas.

Figure 3.15 User Journey Map

On a later date, we held a group meeting about our next move. Specifically to see what our HMW questions would answer. According to the feedback given by Mike we needed to align Yubari with a "Big Idea" like how most Brand have. (e.x. Snickers Chocolate Bar. "You're not you when you're hungry.).

Figure 3.16 Ideation/Solution & Brainstorming

All of us thought of companionship when it comes to Yubari, so we thought that we should make it similar to having a pet of your own. We went with the direction of this. Yubari as a “plant companion” that’s collectible, emotionally meaningful, and personalized like a pet or desk buddy.

With the concept direction locked in, we outlined our branding strategy, which consists of four main outputs:

  • Packaging Design – With QR code linking to the website (Nadia)
  • Instagram Account & Mascot Design – In both 2D and 3D (Jessie, Pricillia)
  • Website Mockup – Including Home and Purchase Pages (Tracy, Nicole)
  • Mobile App Mockup – Featuring Plant Care Tracking UI (Zhi Xuan, Yu Xuen)

Figure 3.17 Art Direction of Yubari

We also began to discuss the UI design system, focusing on typography, color palette, and iconography. Our chosen aesthetic leans toward rounded sans-serif fonts and soft, playful visuals, in harmony with Yubari’s friendly brand tone.

Week 9 / Refined Ideation and Design Proposal Presentation Preparation

Our group met at the University and discussed our respective art direction parts. We discussed and asked for the others opinions on what we have made. In class later, we showed Mike our presentation slides so far and he give us several feedback we need to revise, especially on the big idea and solutions stage. Mike also suggested us to not show the design we have made and keep it for the final presentation.

For the packanging, the first thing I did was to go through square box packaging that I believe would hold Yubari. I collected some reference of tea and candle packaging with a beautiful and decorated exterior for the gifting packaging of Yubari. As they wanted a QR Code on the packaging, I also gathered some references of instances like that.

Figure 3.18 Gathering References

There was also the option of going completely minimalistic and simply making an environmental friendly packaging with only the logo of the Yubari and its brand name. Something similar to the one below.

Figure 3.19 Kraft Paper box

While I waited for the logo of the Yubari to be done, I made some draft designs still inspired by the initial references I took in Pinterest. I was also inspired by the fact that Yubari was inspired by the Japanese Melon. With this in mind, I also searched up Japanese Minimalistic Designs as well as the zen motif patterns. 

Figure 3.20 Zen Motif Patterns

With this in mind, I made a compilation of important references.

Figure 3.21 References Gathered for Packaging

And I started working on the initial designs of the Packaging.

Figure 3.22 Initial Design of Packaging Inspired by Zen Motif

Here are the Mockups made from this design.

Figure 3.23 Mockup of Packaging

I asked my groupmates for their opinion and they all seemed to be quite happy with it. I made sure that it still felt minimalistic with the lack of detail in the elements of the flowers and leaves while making it pleasing to look at. I also made sure to follow the brand colors so that our designs will be in harmony.

Currently, our team is moving forward with task distribution based on this design system: 

  • Jessie and Priscillia are recoloring the mascot and brand logo to match the finalized color palette, ensuring brand harmony.
  • Nicole and Tracy, who are in charge of the website, will also follow the same visual language to maintain consistency between app and web interfaces.
  • Noelle and Shanzi, who are in charge of the mobile application, went for a minimalistic approach while following the same visual language as above.

Figure 3.24 Brand Logo, Mascot Design, Packaging Mockups

Figure 3.25 App Wireframe by Noelle and Shanzi

Week 10 / Presentation Slides

Once the slides were finalised, Dr. Mike assigned all groups to have a meeting with Toru to present their design proposals on 26 June 2025 (Thursday). 

Our group leader represented the team during the presentation, demonstrating strong communication and presentation skills. The meeting was a valuable opportunity to showcase our research, ideation, and visual direction — as well as to receive constructive feedback for further refinement moving forward. 

Figure 3.26 Documentation of Proposal Meeting

We received positive feedback from Toru, who appreciated the overall effort and thought our proposed solutions were well-considered. He specifically mentioned that he liked the mobile app idea, acknowledging that most users today prefer accessing content via their phones. 

From observing other group feedback, we learned that the client has a strong preference for minimalist design styles. He also complimented our chosen color palette, noting that it aligns perfectly with their brand direction and what they were looking for. 

However, from another group, it seems that he would want the packaging to be less flowery, which the current packaging was.

Week 11 / Redesigning Packaging Design

With the feedback from the previous week, I immediately got to working on the redesigning of the packaging.  I quickly moved to redesign bits of the packaging in order for it to suit the wants of our client and landed with this design.

Figure 3.27 Redesigned Packaging

The center circle of the Packaging was put in place for where to put the logo of Yubari for later. For this redesign, I fully went into the minimalistic but cute approach of Yubari. The colors of the background behind the main elements (Logo, leaves, important product information/story) can be changed to suit darker or lighter colors that are of contrasting or complimentary shade.

Figure 3.28 Final Packaging Mockup 1

However, I still had trouble finding a packaging mockup that has the inside of the packaging exposed and asked for help concerning where I could find more sites that gave out packaging mockups.

Week 12 / Making Merchandise

For this week, I focused on making merchandise of Myru, Yubari's mascot. 

Figure 3.29 Myru!

I worked with Pricillia who gave me the high definition PNG of Myru in order to make the sweet mascot into a sticker set and Keychains. I went to YouTube looking for a tutorial in order to help me with the process of making a keychain and found this video.

With the guidance of the video, I was able to make the first two keychains of Myru! I also asked for the opinion of my teammates on whether they prefer the silver or gold keychain and most of them said gold.

Figure 3.30 Myru Keychains
Figure 3.31 Unused Myru Keychains


Week 13 / Myru Sticker Pack

After this, I proceeded to make the sticker pack of Myru and came down with this pack of all of Myru's expressions.

Figure 3.32 Myru Sticker Pack

I thought that this wouldn't be enough to present the Myru Sticker Pack, so I went ahead and made a mockup of what the Myru Sticker Pack could be used on.

Figure 3.33 Myru Sticker Mockup

With this, I was done with the Myru Stickers. In this week, I also finished up the Emathy Part of the Progress Tracker.

Week 14 / Final Touchups, Mockup Showcase, & Final Presentation Preparation

While this was a bit last minute before the presentation and finalization of the Mockups,  Shanzi recommended a few sites and I managed to find one that could show all the sides of Yubari. She also recommended some amazing ideas to make the packaging of Yubari more open and friendly by adding quotes above the packaging to make it more positive.

Figure 3.34 Fake QR Code

I made the QR Code (non-operating of course) for the app and website and implemented the design onto a packaging mockup and was left with this. I used Poppins to direct buyers to scan the QR Code in order to gain access to it.

Figure 3.35 Final Packaging 2

I also implemented the top side of the design with Shanzi's recommendation of positive quotes on top of the packaging.

Figure 3.36 Top of Final Packaging

With this, I was done with the packaging of Yubari. The next part is the Mockup Showcase.

Mockup Showcase:

Figure 3.37 App Mockup by Shanzi (Yan Zhi Xuan) and Noelle (LimYu Xuen)
Figure 3.38 Website Mockup Showcase by Tracy and Nicole (Kiew Ting Yi)
Figure 3.39 Instagram Page and Reels Posts by Pricillia and Jessie
Figure 3.40 Packaging of Yubari by Me (Nadia)
Figure 3.41 2D+3D Mascot Design and Keychain Design by Pricillia, Jessie, and Me (Nadia)
Figure 3.42 Mascot Sticker Pack by Me (Nadia)

We polished the content flow and assigned each section based on everyone’s availability and strengths. We had to deliver a clear, confident presentation within the 15-minute time limit given and cover all the essential parts of our project.

We broke the script down into five main segments:

  • Introduction: Outlining the problem statement, solution overview, big idea, and project goals.
  • User Personas & Survey Insights: Sharing key findings from our interviews and survey data.
  • Customer Journey Map: Walking through user touchpoints, emotional highs and lows, and insights drawn from our journey map and timeline.
  • Art Direction: Presenting UI mockups, branding elements like typography and color palette, plus deliverables such as Instagram posts and reels.
  • Conclusion: Wrapping up with a strong reinforcement of our brand message and product impact.

To make sure we managed our time well, we kept shorter segments around one minute each, while giving more focus to critical sections like the customer journey and art direction. Everyone took part in refining their slides and rehearsing their parts, making sure our presentation would flow seamlessly and leave a memorable impact during Week 15.

Week 15

On 1st August, we proudly presented our final YuBari project to the EXPEDIO team during Week 15. It was an exciting moment as we walked them through the entire journey. I was terrified that I might accidentally stutter and make the presentation longer but I managed to get through it!

Figure 3.45 Final Presentation Documentation

We were really surpised and delighted by the positive feedback from the EXPEDIO members. One of them exclaimed, “Wow, that’s amazing — I really like it, especially the app and website!” They complimented how well our art direction matched the YuBari product and praised the consistency across our branding, UI, and tone. So impressed were they that there were no questions, which really boosted our confidence. The session was light-hearted and fun, ending with a playful reminder to “stay grounded and humble.” by Dr. Mike. 😊

All in all, it was a fulfilling finale to weeks of dedicated teamwork. We’re proud that our design approach and storytelling truly resonated with the brand and look forward to what’s next.

Final Submission

Canva Slide Link: Here

Figure 4.1 Proposal Slides

Figure 4.2 Miro Board

Canva Slide Link: Here

Figure 4.3 Final Proposal Slides

Feedback

Week 1-2

  • Dr. Mike advised us to complete the weekly quizzes using Ncodle Factory (AI Learning Assistant) to help reinforce our understanding of the lecture materials. These quizzes serve as a self-check tool to ensure we’re keeping up with key concepts and retaining what we’ve learned each week.

Week 3

  • We received feedback to further refine and clarify Yubari’s company identity.
  • We were also advised to reorganize our five target audiences into three more defined and meaningful grouped segments. 
  • We need to research the top three best-selling self-watering plant products from our competitors, including their pricing and sales performance. We were asked to compare how these competitors are positioned in the market and identify their strengths and weaknesses relative to Yubari.
  • We were encouraged to explore why consumers are willing to pay more for these alternatives, understand what drives their communities, and analyze the characteristics of these user groups. From these insights, we will begin developing our user persona.

Week 4

  • We received approval for our interview questions and were advised to begin conducting data research through interviews.

Week 5

  • We were reminded that user personas should be based on real data, not assumptions.
  • We were guided to narrow our target audience and avoid overly broad groups like YouTubers outside Malaysia.
  • We were instructed to finalize three user personas by the end of the week.
  • We were encouraged to continue with the survey since it was already started.

Week 6

  • We successfully gathered over 80 survey responses and were told to begin data analysis.
  • We were encouraged to use AI to speed up the summarization process rather than spending excessive time on manual sorting.

Week 7

  • We needed to start organizing our findings and identifying categories.
  • We had to move forward to the "problem" and "how might we" stages.
  • We were asked to select 1–2 personas and analyze their needs and insights.

Week 8

  • We were advised to align the user need more accurately with the insight: “a self-sustaining plant care.”
  • We needed to clarify that our focus should be on creating various Yubari designs to raise awareness through education and promotion, rather than just customization.
  • We were reminded not to redesign Expedio’s branding but to focus on branding for Yubari.

Week 9

  • We were given feedback based on the slides. He advised to work on developing a complete customer journey better to understand the user's interaction with the product.
  • We were reminded to answer the “How Might We” (HMW) questions only after finalizing the big idea to maintain clarity and focus.
  • We need to collect and include more visual references, as there were none provided to support the current mockup.
  • We were told to keep the art direction simple and clean, avoiding overcomplication.

Week 10

  • We received positive feedback from the client, who appreciated the overall effort and thought our proposed solutions were well-considered.
  • He specifically mentioned that he liked the mobile app idea, acknowledging that most users today prefer accessing content via their phones.
  • From observing other group feedback, we learned that the client has a strong preference for minimalist design styles.
  • He also complimented our chosen color palette, noting that it aligns perfectly with their brand direction and what they were looking for.

Week 11

  • We were advised to improve our art direction to ensure stronger visual consistency and alignment with the brand.
  • We were reminded to visualize the full customer journey map clearly for the final presentation.
  • Dr. Mike outlined the content structure for our final presentation deck, which should include:
    • Big Idea (explained) + Brand Values
    • User Persona
    • Art Direction (including different logo versions)
    • User Journey Map
  • A rough timeline was provided:
    • Week 13: Work on final version/prototype
    • Week 14: All visuals must be finalized and approved
    • Week 15: Final presentation

Week 12

  • We were instructed to complete the customer journey map by the end of this week.
  • We need to finalize and lock in our ideas by Week 14, and after that, focus on refining and polishing.
  • Our final presentation slides should be 90% completed by Week 14 to ensure readiness for Week 15 presentation.
  • For the storyboard, we must use real photos instead of drawings to better communicate the narrative.
  • The final presentation will primarily focus on showcasing the mockup designs.
  • We were also advised to use Figma to present our microsite and mobile app designs.

Week 13

  • There was no formal consultation or new feedback this week.
  • We used this time to review our progress, refine the presentation slides, and prepare all visual components for final approval in Week 14.

Week 14

  • Dr. Mike approved the art visuals but mentioned that the direction and flow were unclear and confusing.
  • We were instructed to include the customer journey map in our slides to guide the storytelling and structure of our visuals.
  • The customer journey map also needs to be more detailed and clearly structured in Miro.
  • Mike emphasized the need to show how our user personas transition into actual customers through the journey.
  • We were advised to plan the visual content step-by-step, such as outlining how many reels are needed and what the opening of the final reel would look like.

Reflection

Week 3

In the first few weeks in the process of researching, we were working on contextual research where we could find more about our client, products, and more. For this task, I took part in looking into the potential other wants of our client in order to make a draft on interview questions to ask our client and possibility used in surveys. From this, I learned that it’s necessary to understand what the client fully wants by reading the brief thoroughly. 

Week 4

After our first meet up together outside of class, we work on our user personas through interviews and surveys. I took part in helping make some survey questions and adding onto it. We needed to understand what users would want in Yubari and what would make them get interested in it, which is important for how to continue on with building a community with the product. I added the interview questions into the Miro board in a presentable manner and helped add some questions. Seeing the results from the interviews, I was able to understand how essential it is to plan interviews and get insight in order to get an understanding of the wants of users when it comes to products such as these.

Week 5

During this week, we did some interviews and also got to visit the company to check out the actual product. Seeing it up close and trying it ourselves really helped me understand how it works. One big thing I took away from this experience is that you can’t just design for one “ideal” user. People are so different. Everyone brings a unique perspective based on their age, gender, job, and personality. This really changed how I think about user personas and community building. As someone who wants to create digital experiences in the future, I now see how important it is to include a wide range of users when designing anything creative.

Week 6

We made a questionnaire last week and all of us helped to distribute it. Before we knew it, we managed to reach more than 80 responses on the survey. We then proceeded to close the questionnaire since we had enough responses and started summarizing the contents of it one by one in order to summarize it as a whole. I summarized the data in the contents by taking out and looking at key points noted by the people who took the questionnaire and made it known. From this, we discovered that the design really matters for Yubari.

Week 7

We moved onto the next part which was the Insight Discovery part. We gathered all the key points and lumped them up into categories we could identify in order to make extra user personas to use for potential people who would want Yubari. I didn’t do much this week.

Week 8

This week was the mid-term self study week and break, but we were still continuing with our progress on our vision of Yubari. I started the process of writing the user journey map of 3 user personas from the interviews and creation from the data collected. We also had a meeting on what insights we took from the week before and what is the solution we should come up with. It was difficult thinking about what their thinking would be initially but I ended up finishing it soon after I got it. With this, I managed to learn how to sort out the process of the consumers.

Week 9

This week, we discussed most of our progress and work in the Syopz Mall and consulted Mike on what we have available so far in our proposal. He said that the Big Idea is an extremely important part of the proposal and how it should answer all the “How might We” questions that consumers would ask. This week, I also started on the draft of the packaging proposal and planned to ask for the opinion of my other group members. After I got their opinion, I continued on.

Week 10

The first presentation was held this week with Nicole presenting all the work we have done so far about our Yubari and the big idea. Based on the feedback given by our client, he likes our idea and we are able to proceed in our current progress. We are now focusing on the collectible side of our mascot and Yubari. This presentation also made me realise I had to revise some of the packaging designs in order for it to not be too flowery.

Week 11

This week, we were briefed about the final presentation. He showed us examples from past students, what is needed in the final presentation, and what structure our slides should be for the final presentation. We were also introduced to the Gantt Chart where we would put out creative solutions in. This week, I also started the process of redesigning the packaging to be less flowery but still minimalistic.

Week 12

This week, I learned that it was important to finalize all the core ideas before refining them in the polishing stage. With the semester ending, I realised that I have to quickly speed up my workload  in order to make it before the final presentation. I also learned that it was important to have consistency across all of our visual elements across all the slides, mockups, and journey maps. I continued focusing on redesigning the packages while also helping out with making the merchandise of our mascot.

Week 13

For this week, there was no formal consultation or new feedback from Mike. It gave us more time to refine our work that we hadn’t had the chance to refine. Designing the packaging to look simple but still colorful in order to fit with the theme of the others’ designs of the website, app, and Myru was difficult but I did more research into minimalistic Japanese designs and landed on a design that was simple but effective. Next, I focused on the merchandise completely.

Week 14

For this week, I continued my progress on the merchandise. I finished up the mockups for the keychains of our mascot, Myru. I cooperated with Shanzi with the Myru keychains and sticker packs. It was interesting to work on this since even though my specialization is UI/UX, I do wish to make things like this in the future. With some conversation with some of the other members of this team, I realised I needed to show all the sides of the package and immediately started working on it as well. In the end, I managed to implement a vital part of the packaging by finding a mockup that shows the inside of a square package and putting the QR code leading to the app of Yubari.

Week 15 / Overall

While there were many tough moments during this module, I'm so grateful to be able to be apart of this amazing team and have such amazing teammates! I learned many things about teamwork, being able to complete things on time, and how to make merchandise. I am amazed by my teammates and wish them well for their next semester.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment