I used spider diagrams, my sketchbook and procreate to try and come up names for my app. I wanted the name to be fun, friendly but get to the point of what it is or what it can do. I wanted an inspiring name and one that was catchy and people remembered.

Below are the images I made that helped me come up with my name.

I kept coming up with words like global and green in my head so i messed around with a few ideas and i put a star at the one I liked the most.

The name I picked was Global Hero

Why?

• It is catchy
• It is positive
• It is encouraging
• It is inspiring for those who want to help the planet
• I can imagine it on merchandise

I made some mind maps and spider diagrams on some ideas I had for the pitch. I explored all areas of global warming and climate change, trying to come up with the best product I could.

 

App idea development

After coming up with some product ideas I wanted to focus on an app because I felt that was the best idea and the one I could come up with the best ideas for.

I made some on procreate and felt this was a good space for me to be as free I wanted to be and come up with the craziest outcomes.

Why Global Warming?

 

What I want my app to be?

1. A place were young adults and teenagers can find out about climate change
2. A guide to a better and cleaner future
3. A place were people can find out how to help/contribute all in one

I then used spider diagrams to try and figure out the best things to include in this app and to really see what would work best.

Why make mind maps?

Mind maps are a great way to explore your craziest ideas in a grouping sort of way, new ideas lead to new ideas as you make the mind map bigger and I think that it is one of the best ways for me to create the most creative ideas. This form of idea generation is really helpful because it doesn’t have to be perfect or thought out it can be wild and I enjoy making the connections. I really think this benefited me in this pitch because I got to group together ideas and form a product.

 

I wanted to get some more ideas on book covers, plots and or designs so I decided to research some current superhero books online and see what I could find. I found a few and thought I would firstly look into the design and or overall aesthetic of the books, here is what I found.

The Three Little Superpigs – Claire Evans.

This book is about three pigs who are superheroes and I thought the cover was really great and funny. When I seen the front I just wanted to read more and and find out who these super pigs were. I think that the colour palette is great and the pigs really appear super! I think that the title ‘superpigs’ could be in a nicer colour font however. I also feel the character development is strong and feel the pigs were really brought to life and appear to have great powers. I also liked how minimal the background was, it was just grass and the sky, so it doesn’t take away from the pigs – the most important part. This book has given me great inspiration and has really inspired my front cover for my e-book.

 

Ten Rules of being a superhero – Deb Pilutti

This next superhero book I found was called Ten rules of being a superhero, and when I seen this I thought the illustration was great. My e-book is going to be about people and kids not about animals so it was great to see a superhero design that is out right now. I like the bold and mixed type fonts for the title and also was intrigued by the 3d in your face superhero doll that is being lifted. The colour palette of blue and orange go really nice together, overall looks like a very interesting childrens book that a child would want to pick up and read.

 

Noahs superheroes – Sarah Miller

This superhero book is another plot genre – fruit and vegetables. It is a book to encourage young kids to eat their veggies and fruit. I like the idea of this but my e-book is not about animating everyday items or food but it was still nice to look into the idea. I really like the illustration style and feel the front cover is really eye-catching. It made me want to eat a piece of fruit too! I also like the health side to this book, it isn’t just a fun picture book, it is to make kids out there healthier and benefit them intellectually. This is what I want my book to do, help kids want to learn about science and the periodic table. I like the calming blue background on the front page, to really makes the brightly coloured veggie heroes stand out.

What did I learn?

• I learned that superheroes can be anything from pigs to fruit and vegetables
• I learned that superhero books can be very beneficial for kids and can teach them about their health and how to lead a healthy lifestyle
• I also became aware of current books out there that are about superheroes so I got some competitor analysis done which was very helpful in my research
• I got some great ideas for illustration styles and even background colour ideas, I feel blue works really well.

Reflection

Overall this research really helped me in my superhero book development and feel like I am more encouraged now to create a meaningful storyline that will educate kids and hopefully inspire them. I also think that I got a lot out of looking at the design of these books, and the illustration style. I feel I am really prepared now to start to think about my home screen page of my e-book with an exciting cover and well thought out and developed plot. I really found looking at these three different approaches to superheroes very insightful and it was great to see such an variety of concepts.

For this task I wanted to do some user research for multiple reasons but user research like surveys is really beneficial  for a project to get to know the user and their needs. Since I am designing and presenting an app pitch I needed to find out the following for a target group:

• To know how much they know about global warming
• To find out if global warming is something they care about/think about
• To understand how they would want to help
• To get to know if they would use an app or not involving this subject
• To know if they know how serious it is

Who is my Target Group?

My target group is teenagers and adults really anyone who uses apps and is concerned with the environment and how they can help contribute to saving it. So I sent out this to as many ages I could to get a diverse result to make it more informative.

The survey

I made the survey on Typeform, I have made previous surveys on this site for other projects and I found it really helpful and easy to use. The questions I asked weren’t too difficult to answer, I tried to get to the point quickly to make it more convenient for the user to answer and stay interested. I asked questions that would only benefit my research and to give me some answers

Why do User Research?

• To get to know the users
• To understand what the users know and what they need
• To make a better product
• To get sound knowledge and information on the target group, that I wouldn’t get otherwise

What did I find out?

1. I found out that the target group do not have time to think about global warming/climate change because they are too busy
2. I found out that the target group thinks the topic of climate change is boring
3. I also found out the the target group do not feel they know enough about the topic to know how to help

Reflection

Overall I feel I got alot from creating this typeform survey and sending out to my selected target group and feel that the responses I received rally opened my eyes to what the target group know about the topic of global warming. The results were scary for me because it confirmed my thoughts on that people do not care enough about it or are too busy to think about it. Now I feel I have enough information about the users to try and create a product that will solve all of these problems.

For user research for this project I decided I wanted to do a survey. I made this survey for a target group of children aged 8 -10 because this is the audience I would like to reach for my e-book. I decided to make this survey online so I could send it out to the target group, I made this survey on type form.

I asked a range of questions in this survey, although I made sure not to put too many questions on the survey so they would not be bored filling it out.

Styling questions for children:

• I made sure to make the questions a yes or no format – this made it easier for them to understand and answer
• I asked simple questions
• I used a language they would understand, I used simple words and made sure not to use big words as this would confuse them and they could have got bored and clicked off the survey
• I asked specific questions to help me find out if an e-book is needed for kids

Why send out a survey?

• To get information on the need for e-books
• To find out if kids like to read
• To find out if kids ages 8-10 know anything about the periodic table
• To discover what good an e-book on the periodic table would do for the kids
• To help me understand the users
• To collect important research for this project

 

 

What did I learn from this research

I learned a lot as a designer who is creating a learning tool for kids. I needed this information on the interest in e-books and the periodic table before I began so I knew it was in demand, and needed within the age group. I feel more prepared to go ahead and make this e-book because I now know what the kids know, thank they like to read and that this is a good idea.

For the pitch I made three user personas, I did this because I find user personas a great way to get to know and understand the users needs. I love making these for each project and find them very helpful in the process. I also plan to include them in my pitch to back up what I am saying and really make my point – that more people aren’t aware on how to help climate change.

Below are the user personas I made

Why make user personas?

1. To highlight the age difference in people who do not know a lot about climate change, or know how to help contribute to helping do their part.
2. To back up my point on how there are many people in many professions that want to know more
3. User research is necessary in any project
4. To get to know the needs and wants of the users
5. To make my app a better product for those who are going to use it

Reflection

I think these user personas will really help me create this app in the best way possible. I know who I am designing for now and feel like I am prepared to design an app to cater for all needs. I enjoyed creating personalities and ensuring each user had some desire to learn about climate change and want to do their part to help. I discovered that the age range is endless for this topic and all ages are concerned about it.

Now that I have started on the writing and finished the illustrations, I decided to make the paper prototype of the book. I wanted to do this so I could feel the paper in my hands, flick through it like a real book. Even though this is going to be an e-book, I still wanted to see the prototype in real life.

Why make a paper prototype?

• To see the layout of the pages on each page
• To see how the pages look as I flick through
• To get a vision of what should be on each page (illustrations etc)
• To plan out each page
• To see if I have unnecessary parts added
• To evaluate the length of the book

 

I think that this was a really helpful task for me to complete for this project. I really liked this finished outcome and how my illustrations looked all together.

What needs work?

• I could of added in the text to the pages to make it more realistic
• I could have coloured in the paper prototype to give me a better idea of what the end result would look like, this would also appeal more to kids if I gave them the prototype to flick through
• I could have laminated the book to look more professional

 

I wanted to some up some of the things I have learned from doing my proposal. I think it is important to self evaluate at the end of projects and this one was a tricky one for me so I felt I had faced a lot of challenges along the way.

Challenges

The hardest part for me was definitely understand all of the legal terms I wasn’t aware of before I began this. I also had never made an invoice before so I feel like it was scary and hard for me to get the grasps of. I also feel like a big challenge was type, I always find this with every project and think that with the proposal, since it is a document the type was so important. I wanted my proposal to be simplistic and sleek and I feel it was hard for me to select a fitting typeface that done all of the talking. Another challenge for me was designing this proposal. I felt like it was hard to see examples and to know if I was under designing or over designing it. Since it is a legal document I stayed clear of colour or illustrations but then again I then felt this was too boring. Overall I feel like this project was really knew and scary for me but I feel like a more knowledgeable designer because of it.

Main things I learned:

• Legal Terminology
• How to write an invoice
• How to take a website and turn it into a proposal idea
• How to design a proposal in a fitting way
• How to overcome fear of new things/projects

Reflection

I felt that I learned a lot from this project and tried to take in as much legal jargon as I could but it was hard at first to get motivated to do so. With research and development and getting stuck in it got easier. I think that this was a something very different for me as a designer and I know what a proposal is now and how important they are for when it comes to selling your skills as a designer. I am happy with how it turned out and feel like the sleek idea and design really paid off.

 

I wanted to find out more on pitching and more specifically, how to give a good pitch. I feel like Daniels lectures helped but I wanted to do my own research and get good sources that are known for their pitching techniques. I found this ted talk on a speech coach that is known for his pitching coaching and speech coaching, he is called David Beckett and the video had lots of hits so I wanted to see if what he said was of any value. The video was called ‘How to give the perfect pitch’ and it was exactly what I was looking for.

The video was around 30. minutes long and I am going to discuss some of the main parts that stuck with me.

He started by saying that he has so many years of experience with pitching, he has coached for pitches that were 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3, 5 and 7. He mentioned that a pitch should be no longer than 7 minutes. This shocked me because I thought pitches could be any length.

What makes a great pitch?

This section was fascinating and just what I was looking for, he talked about 4 principles.

1. Communication is what the listener does
2. Its all about simplicity, clarity and focus – Shrink the pitch right down and get to the essence of the story
3. Conscious decisions – about what you are going to say and do from the very first second to the very last
4. Certainty – stand by what you mean because you mean it. It creates confidence in you

He talked about getting the story straight for the next part of the speech and this also interested me a lot. He firstly said you must know your audience. Then went onto brainstorming with post-it notes to get the pitch out of your head. Then make a clear opening, the power of three (to break things down) and then closing. This list really helped me understand how important it is to break down your pitch and focus on objectives.

He said if you go away with anything today it would be that you should get the pitch out of your head onto post it notes and brainstorm. This was the most important message he believes. This was shocking because I thought it would a more complex idea. He quoted the David Allen book on productivity and said that our brains can’t organise more than 6 things so then we have to get them out and write them down. This will make your pitch more successful.

The Pitch Canvas 

This was one of the most interesting parts of the talk because he broke down the pitch into sections to make it successful, efficient and a better pitch.

The boxes you must include:

• Simple statement
• Pain (+gain)
• Product
• Product demo
• What is unique
• Customer traction
• Business model
• Investment
• Team
• End statement
• Why you ?

One of the boxes that surprised me was the pain (+gain) box. David said if this section is not in your pitch then the investors will not care. There has to be a problem (pain) and then a solution (gain) for the pitch to be successful. This was eye-opening and I will ensure that my pitch has a pain area that my app will solve. He said that there is four questions you must ask yourself.

1. Is there a problem to solve?
2. Is the problem big?
3. Will people pay to have this problem fixed?
4. Have you validated that?

His source for this evidence is that he has interviewed lots of investors and this is what they want to see the pain. David said that investors say this is the most important part of the pitch. Taking a look at this pitch canvas was really helpful and great to watch him speak to proudly of it. This is something I will be referring back to when creating my pitch to ensure I have all of the elements.

David also put a huge emphasis on practising. This was reassuring  because I am good at practising things, he said that if your pitch is 3 minutes and you are in a particular competition or in line with others, they will cut you off so do it in 2 minutes 55. It is always better to be under than over time he mentioned.

Ending the talk David talked about closing, as in closing the pitch which was fitting. He talked about how you should close your pitch with passion and power. Don’t finish on a low note, finish on a high note. He said by doing this – stating who you are, what your product does and what you want from the audience, this will help you finish like a true professional.

What did I learn? 

I learned a lot from this talk and am glad I took the half hour to watch David speak so great about pitching. I wanted to know how to make a great pitch and I feel I know and got what I wanted. I got tips on what to include, I learned about how to end a good pitch. I also got to take a close look at his pitch canvas that not everyone gets to see. I now know what investors believe to be the most important element of a pitch – the pain or problem. I also know how much David believes in brain storming with post -it notes which was great to hear because I do that all the time and it is something I can do for my pitch too.