Self Evaluation

Unit: 0703303, Self Init. Study was a very challenging design project for me.

In this project i was advised by my faculty to research about the growing problem of child obesity in the United Arab Emirates. In addition i was responsible for coming up with a board game in order to promote healthy eating habits and lifestyle among children. The methodology i followed is as follows


(1) defining the problem

Growing Problem of Child Obesity

(2) gathering information or researching

I did my research by reading books, and collecting facts from the Internet, and also by interviewing Mrs. Mona Hashim, a certified nutritionist. Also i read a little about children psychology and what kind of colors,shapes, and designs are appealing to them.

(3) developing ideas

I conceptualized many elements of the game such as different kind of meal plans and activities

Fun Zone
2pts kiss mom n dad
10pts color and draw
3pts play with clay
2pts watch cartoon
10 pts do ur homework

Care Zone
10 pts brush your teeth
3 pts cut your nails
3 pts take a shower
3 pts take a nap
5 pts comb ur hair
10 pts be silent for 3 mins

Activities Zone
10 pts brush your teeth
6 pts cut your nails
7 pts take a shower take a nap
3 pts comb ur hair
2 pts be silent for 3 mins


Meals plans (Lunch, Dinner, Snack etc)
Chicken Biryani
Shawermas
Pizzas
Cake
Fruits
Juices
Candy's
Etc


(4) finding solutions

My most challenging part was trying to come up with a solution that communicates the idea with a very young target audience. I believe i did not do a successful job in the actual game strategy element of the project. I had the necessary background information to make the game, but zero experience in designing or playing games since i had mostly played computer car racing games as a child, and no strategy games.

(5) implementing one or more solutions.

My biggest weakest in the project was in implementation and not conceptualization. I had concepts but was unable to implement them due to a variety of reasons and lack of planning on my part.

Firstly, i was under great pressure to do well in my contextual studies course with Mrs. Elizabeth and it was taking a lot of time for me to understand the ideas and prepare research reports for her class.

Secondly, my health and nutrition elective this semester was great in developing an understanding for the background of obesity, but not in game strategy.


What would you have done differently?

I should have spent more time playing some board games to get more ideas on how to design mine. The only board game I played is scrabble, which seemed irrelevant and inapplicable in my case.

What could you have done better, what were your errors?
My errors were that i was unable to execute my concepts and not able to balance my time between cultural studies class and independent study class.

What could you have worked out better to improve your projects?
Better planning on my part, and more interviews with children to see what they are interested in. Maybe a game wasn't the best way to come up with an anti-obesity campaign.

I also think i spent too much time thinking about what the characters should look like, and what they should be wearing, I wanted to make real models of the characters, but problems of lack of staff for a week at wood shop left me confused as if this would be the right step to take. Thus i modeled the box of the game in Google Sketchup, and printed the characters of foam core instead.


What have you learn t from this project?
I have learn t that competition brings out the best from us, and also i should focus more on my work, and give less help to my colleagues when they are facing technical problems. Because when i was having problems in parts of my project, they didn't seem to interested to help me.

I spent too much time helping my colleagues and proofreading their cultural studies papers, when i should have spent focusing on my own projects. I was lucky I had Professor Nicos to help me in my cultural studies research paper, because i was really really struggling with it. I had to go through more than 7 drafts before i submitted my paper. Even doing the resume, was a challenge for me. Also i have learned that my time management should be better and i should research more about execution part of my project than just ideas and concepts. Ideas and concepts are important but without execution, they are just invisible.

Also maybe i should have choosen a different path other than a game to communicate an idea of child obesity. Such as posters, a comic book, or a short movie. I believe i spent too much time stuck on the game trying to figure out a solution, instead of changing my solution to the problem.

Overall

I dont think the Munch N Crunch Project really suited my personality. Board games is'nt really my cup of tea. I should have done another project or taken a different approach to the problem. I wanted to make a comic book, or design awareness posters. Unfortunately I ran out of time. And was not able to complete the project on time. However I did learn a lot about myself, the way i work, and how i should improve.