Project Report
My project explores creating a learning aid tool for children (KG-Y1) with Dysgraphia by presenting a designed outcome that specifically targets the enhancement of their motor function and motor memory.
Taking a look back at how I handled this topic, the quality of my research very early on, the momentum I had from the beginning which I carried through until the very end, and my decision-making skills, I would say I hit the ground running with my final major project. In terms of Knowledge and Understanding, I was able to learn a lot about Dysgraphia in a short amount of time by refining my research from the very beginning. My blog and sketchbooks demonstrate a very organized and systematic way of approaching my question and coming up with visual solutions. This also links to the Cognitive Skills aspect of the criteria, where I feel I have successfully been able to develop this project visually because of my continuous practice research method that started from the very first card stencils I made, until the very last test-pamphlet I printed out.
Taking into account the amount of time we had to work on our final major projects, I'm pleased with my designed outcomes. However, had I had more time I would have definitely been able to go through several phases of stencil-refinement. The laser-cutting deadline was on July 21, which was 4 weeks after the commencement of the supervision period. I had begun designing very early on, so the deadline wasn't a problem for me. However, one of the problems I recognized is that not all of the stencils work perfectly with any writing tool - had I had several months to work on this project I would have been able to create a second set of stencils that solve this issue. It is worthy to note that the paper and card stencils I created before sending off my work to the laser cutter worked perfectly fine, but the thickness of the acrylic sheets presented a new challenge which needed time to overcome.
Initially I wanted to test my stencils out on children with writing disabilities. The specialist I was in touch with expressed her interest in trying my designed outcomes; unfortunately that couldn't happen because they had summer break. Schools were also on break so I couldn't test my stencils out on children as intended. I was planning on featuring that in a video, instead I decided to go with a stop motion clip that explains dysgraphia and my project to the public. I have no video making experience, so this was an interesting learning process for me.
Creative services had a problem with printing double sided, so I went through many print tests to design around the problem. My final pamphlet is still not perfectly aligned, but much better than the first one.
This project has been very ambitious and I definitely see so much potential for it developing into a PhD, which is one of the aspects I was hoping to leave my MA with.