Personal Process Journal
Aditya Patil Master’s in Design Innovation & Service Design
Content Day 1
Topic Selection / Process / The Mistake / Learnings
Day 2
Finding The Problem
Day 3
Zero-Waste Fashion Design Seminar
Day 4
Fashion Timeline / Interviewing / Reflection
Day 5
Expert Interview / Thematic Analysis
Day 6 Day 7
Biomimicry Research / Sketching / Learnings
Day 8
The Idea / Engagement Tool
Day 9
Mock Presentation / Reflection / Engagement Tool & Interviews / Learnings
Day 10
Expert Help / Identifying the Problem / Sketching / Storyboard & Journey Map Expert Interview / Learnings
Day 11
Prototyping / Learnings
Day 12
Prototype Testing / Presentations / Learnings / Team Collaboration Research Methods and Workshops / Remote Working
Learnings
Team Collaboration / Research Methods & Workshops/ Remote Working
Day 1
We had a range of topics to choose from. I found the right to breathe and biomimicry in the textile industry highly intriguing. The topic right to breath was something I wanted to work on, Because coming from India and having stayed in the city of Delhi I know how difficult it is for the people of Delhi to breathe clean air during November to January.
Topic Selection We did a vote out to select our area of interest, and the majority of the peers agreed to work on the material world. I was also inspired by the topic, as I like to explore nature, and I am quite observant when I am outdoors. Also, getting inspired by nature to design products and services is very motivating.
Process My point of view for the assignment was not just thinking about biomimicry as a solution for designing products for the fashion industry inspired by nature. I was keener towards creating a system or process which is inspired by nature.
The Mistake While doing the desk research on biomimicry, I came to know that it is a method used to find solutions. That was a mistake which we did as a group. We discussed the difficulties we were facing and realised that everyone was facing the same problem.
Learnings I got to know about some of the products which we use, and see every day have been inspired by nature. We need to keep observing and apply critical and analytical reasoning on the processes and beings present in nature. Never start arriving to a solution without understanding the problem which we need to solve.
Day 2 In the morning, we discussed the outcomes of the desk research we had done. We decided to tackle the problems related to the textile industry. We started our research while doing, so I came across a report by McKinsey & Company - The State of Fashion 2020. It reports about the problems faced by the fashion industry and the possible threats for the future. It mentioned that 57% of the fashion waste lands up in the landfills and as less as 10% is recycled.1 I gathered facts about the fashion industry from the report. It helped me to understand the fashion industry thoroughly.
Finding The Problem We started our 2nd session by discussing all the research we had done so far. Everyone added 4-5 problems faced in the fashion industry using the post-it notes on the miro board. We did a vote out to select the major problem, as according to the members, all the problems were severe.
We segregated the problems based on the types of viz. Recycle, production, care, consumption, logistics, and sourcing. I tried to pitch in my problem statement by stating the hazardous effects of the microfibre on the environment. The group discussion led us to our first HMW. It stated that how might we produce highquality clothes at an affordable price. We debated a lot before selecting the final HMW when we started getting into the depth of the problem of microfibre & care that is when we came across another HMW which stated that HMW make available high-quality clothes at lower rates. After finding the right the HMW, we designed a journey map of the fashion industry. We, designed a journey of clothes right from its sourcing to manufacturing to selling it to the customers.
Day 3 We had a call with Fergus it was very productive. We learned that our desk research related to biomimicry is insightful with great facts. He gave us feedback that the problem which we are trying to solve is still very broad, and we need to narrow it down. He suggested us to do some expert interviews and draw a historical time-line of the industry. Today we came up with another problem that, HMW educate the consumers about the ill effects of using the synthetic fibres. I also learned that synthetic fibres are the most difficult to recycle n the form of threads or yarn. The natural fibres are more easily recyclable. We also came up with the hypothesis that, if the demand for the clothes manufactured from the synthetic fibres is cut down and increase the aspirational value of the clothes manufactured from the natural fibres we can decrease the price of the clothes manufactured from natural fibres.
Zero-Waste Fashion Design Seminar I, with my team-mates, attended the seminar. They enlightened us about the hard facts of the fashion industry and how much harm they are causing to the planet. They informed that 15% of the fabric is wasted at the cutting stage. They have designed a zero wastage design technique. They also taught us the paper prototyping technique to create a shirt with zero-waste.
Day 4 We started reflecting on our research and also decided to design a time-line of the fashion industry, as suggested by Fergus.
Fashion Timeline Creating a timeline was a unique 30-minute exercise it helped us to gather information about the fashion industry. We found out how fashion has been influencing people for centuries, how the use of synthetic fibres started affecting the industry. Also, we learned, the Swadeshi Movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi in India, which encouraged people to weave their threads and clothes. The idea of personal fashion and tailoring can be linked to the movement. After this activity wee reflected on our HMW, we found that we have been just creating a hypothesis based on our research, so we decided to do some interviews.
Interviewing I did two user interviews one was a 21 years old girl from Italy and the other from India aged 26 years old. After the interviews, I found out a vast difference between both the participants in terms of shooping behaviour. But, both the participants did not know about the effects of the synthetic fibres on the environment. The hypothesis which we had done regarding the user’s knowledge about the washing of clothes was wrong. The users have information about how washing the clothes it is just that they do not have enough time to separately wash each clothes based on the instructions provided.
Reflection It was a great day. All the team members co-ordinated very nicely, and I hardly faced any problems in conveying my message to the team-mates.
Day 5 Expert Interview We had an expert interview today. We interviewed Holly McQuillan she gave us rich insights about the fashion industry. She told us that the production needs to be cut down by 75% to bring back the balance in the fashion industry.
Thematic Analysis We also did a thematic analysis of all the user interviews. We discovered that various types of elements are involved when people do their shopping. Analysing the codes was a team effort, we argued a lot on how to place the codes and what to name them. We had to create a sub-category of the codes and some of the codes repeated in 2-3 categories. After the analysis, we came up with more HMW questions, and we decided to take a break and do some reflection on all the research we had done so far.
Day 6 We started discussing all the possible problems faced by the industry based on our interviews and the thematic analysis. I was not convinced with the problem which we were trying to solve because I could not understand the exact meaning of the problem. My thought process was that if we are trying to add value to clothes, we will be just like other high luxury brands in the market selling the products at a higher price. We won’t be making any major change to the system. This made me ask a lot of questions to the team members, and everyone tried to explain their point o view. After multiple questions and arguments, we discovered our problem which was garments are thrown away as waste because of the lack of value. We decided to do some research on the biomimicry and self-reflection on the problem for the weekend.
Day 7 Biomimicry Research We listed down all the desk research insights we had done over the weekend. I gave my inputs from my real experiences and from the facts I have learned after watching the Planet Earth series. In my home back in India, I used to observe the birds in my courtyard daily. I have seen them build their nest from waste materials. Based on this research, we started to list down the behavioural aspects of animals and nature. I also learned about the unique behaviour of the hermit crabs that, when a hermit crab finds a suitable shell, it switches the old for the new one, leaving the old shell for others.
Crazy 8 We decided to do crazy 8 sketchings. Recently, I am inspired by Tesla’s spacesuits. They have a modular structure and place for the mobile holder on the lap hence, I draw the sketch of that suit. After the sketching, we listed the salient points of every member’s sketch ideas. We did a vote to choose the best idea.
Learning Today I learned that I lack some of the leadership skills. These skills are useful to work in a group to show them a direction when stuck. I want to learn those skills from Lydia. Because, she manages everything so well right from being a student representative, to working on the project and also working part-time.
Day 8 It was a very productive day we as a team contributed a lot more insights after a heavy brainstorming session. We had to design our versions of storyboards for the solution. We started the session by describing our storyboard. We concluded that our solution could be a combination of all the storyboard solutions provided by the team members.
The Idea When the team members were discussing all the potential ideas, my mind was converging and diverging. I was not able to understand their solutions, but I was picking up significant terms. They were talking about value, communication, community, education and creation. That is when I suggested an idea about a community fashion park, which after the discussion was modified into an eco-fashion festival. The reason we choose the solution was that when it comes to festivals, people can be attracted more easily. While discussing the recycling store as a solution, we came across the eco-fashion festival solution. One of our team members replied that she wouldn’t go to a store to exchange her clothes.
Engagement Tool We designed an engagement tool to precisely understand the financial and emotional value they have towards shopping for clothes. The tool will also help us to understand consumer behaviour. I don’t understand what value is this tool going to bring to our solution. I also think that this tool should have been designed in the earlier phase of the design process because the data collected won’t help towards the solution which we are trying to work. I did not raise any questions because I wanted to check how the tool works and what data can we collect with the help of this tool.
Day 9 Mock Presentation Boyang and I decided to do the presentation. While giving the presentation, I made the following mistakes: • Forgot to mention the significant points of the research we had done. • l Could not communicate the problem which we were trying to solve. • I did not prepare before the presentation. We received some valuable feedback from Lizette, where she stated that why we came with the above-stated solution? Also, Jonathan suggested that think about the emotional durability of the solution, also think whether it has a long impact.
Reflection After the call, we started discussing where we went wrong during the presentation. The discussion was very productive. Ana explained that everyone is not giving 100% feedback that is why our presentation was poor. The major learning after the discussion was, ask questions unless and until everyone understands it properly.
Engagement Tool & Interviews We divided the team according to the tasks they wanted to perform during the interview. We started working as a team together, even after the failed presentations. We decided to do combined testing of 2 participants. It was a good experience to test the tool. After this, Brandon & Mudan tested 4 other participants separately. Based on the data collected by them, we created 4 user persona and categorised the participants in a quadrant chart based on their shopping values. Yesterday I was sceptical about using this engagement tool, but today I feel it has been a very helpful tool to gather some behavioural insights.
Learnings Talking and sharing openly with your team members helps to identify the problem more easily. It is a good thing to ask questions unless you understand. It is a good practice to ask the members how they are feeling about the project. Members give some honest feedback, and that is how we learn. Healthy dialogue and a positive attitude are very much necessary when working in a team.
Day 10 The day started with confusion in mind. We had done all the research and had identified the major problems faced by the fashion industry. We were just running away from the solution because we thought we do not have the technical expertise to solve the problem. Also, we thought that every problem needs to be solved which made the process difficult.
Expert Help We decided to take help from the professors to find a way. After listening to our problem, they advised us to vote out a person from the team and try solving the problem he/she suggests.
Identifying the Problem We selected Boyang as the person to select the topic, and she suggested us to solve the following problem: HMW encourage second-hand shopping. Everyone agreed on the problem statement without any hesitation. This shows how everyone in the team is working towards a common goal and is in sync with each other. We again started converging on the statement and defined our final problem statement, i.e. HMW create a subscription service for second-hand clothing.
Sketching To understand every team member’s definition of subscription service we decided to do a sketching activity. I sketched a physical store were the consumers can return their old clothes. Everyone countered the idea with some strong points which I did not think about. I took the feedback positively. Others had come with good solutions, so we combined all the ideas into one service solution for the second-hand clothing market.
Storyboard & Journey Map We decided to design a journey map of an individual who wants to donate clothes. Brandon was not able to understand the problem statement, so we as, a team, explained him in detail. Once he understood then only we proceeded without the next step of creating a user journey. While working on the user journey, we got a novel solution for the problem.
After the journey map, we worked on the storyboard script.
Expert Interview We interviewed Marielle Elizabeth she, is an influencer on Instagram for slow fashion for oversized bodies. We got to learn about how influencers can help to propagate an idea. We tried to understand the demographics of her followers and the behaviours based on their ages. She said people in the age group of 25-50 years do not have the energy to make a behavioural shift. We also learned about the behaviours of the consumers.
Learning I found out that: • Design & Innovation is an iterative process. One needs to keep exploring new ideas before coming to a concrete solution. • Never give up on the team, believing in yourself and the team is important. • Falling in love with the problem keeps you always motivated. • Ask for help whenever stuck.
Day 11 Prototyping During our team meeting, we divided the work between the team and based on that we started working on the prototypes. Lydia and Boyang were working on the paper prototypes. Mudan and Brandon worked on the sketches for the storyboard. Ana and I started working on the website prototype. First, we started with the information architecture for the website. Later, based on the storyboard, we started designing the main screens for the service.
In the team meeting, we discussed the work everyone had created and gave some feedback on the same.
Learning If anyone feels stressed during the project, try some ice breaker questions to calm down the mood. When working in a team just, do not talk about the project, talk about things related to food or any news. Sharing such things helps the team members to open up and increases the understanding between the teammates. It also helps to understand the aspirations of the team members, which helps to work towards the goal in unity.
Day 12 Prototype Testing We tested the prototype individually on the same users we had interviewed. We received good feedback which we incorporated into the website prototype. Overall the feedback for the solution was positive.
Presentation We again divided the work. First, we designed a script for the presentation. Later, based on the expertise, everyone started working on their part in the presentation. I helped the team in creating the video required for the presentation. Everyone worked as a team, and everyone made sure that a single person is not getting all the workload.
Learnings Throughout the project, I kept on learning something new about team collaboration, different design process, design research, remote working and mainly about how to conduct a design workshop with a team of vivid individuals.
Team Collaboration It is most important to listen to the team members before explaining your part. The team I got to work was helping and co-ordinating throughout the time. We all fell in love with the problem. Hence, even though we had lost track in between, we stayed united and worked as a team.
Research Methods and Workshops The project allowed me to conduct user interviews. I also learned how to do a thematic analysis of the data. Also, I learned about different types of research methodologies and how to to use them based on the situation. Also, I learned how to conduct effective design workshops.
Remote Working I learned some great tools and techniques to effectively collaborate with people remotely. Overall it was great fun working with the team, and I still need to improve on my presentation, time management and leadership skills.
Endnotes 1 The state of fashion 2020 - McKinsey & Company