This week’s class introduced the final year project and focused on the early stages of ideation. We looked at how to approach brainstorming effectively — starting broad, exploring different directions, and thinking critically about what makes an idea meaningful.
A big part of the discussion was about considerations — who the project is for, what impact it could have, and how it connects to wider contexts like innovation or accessibility. We also touched on how to balance creativity with feasibility and how early research can help shape stronger, more informed concepts later on.
Overall, it was a useful first session that set the tone for the project ahead, reminding me to stay open-minded in the early stages and not rush into a single idea too soon.
Class Workshop
Our exercise was to pick a topic from the Zeitgeist list and try to quickly understand and “solve” it. My group chose Disinformation and Misinformation, which turned out to be a really interesting one because it affects so many different areas of everyday life.
We started by defining both terms and getting clear on the difference between them. From there, we identified the core problems—how quickly false information spreads, how easily people trust what they see online, and how hard it can be to tell what’s reliable. We also looked at who is most affected, thinking about different demographics and how age, digital literacy, and online habits change someone’s vulnerability to misleading content.
After that, we brainstormed possible ways to intervene. We explored ideas around education, fact-checking, platform responsibility, and designing for more transparent information ecosystems. Our final concept was a browser extension that can automatically detect potential disinformation or misinformation. The idea is that it would flag suspicious content, highlight credibility issues, and help users make more informed decisions before sharing or believing something.
Overall, the exercise was a helpful way to practice breaking down a big societal issue into definitions, problems, audiences, and potential design responses—all within a short timeframe.