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Minor Project : Task 1 / Propose an innovative project proposal as a group.

04/04/2023 - 16/05/2023 / Week 01 - Week 07


Minor Project PRJ62204
NAME: Sea Hirayama

I.D: 0347596

COURSE: Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's Design School




●Instructions



 
 ●Task Progress

- Week 1




For this week, we had introduction, tutorial of this module and divided in the group for the project in this semester. I joined in STEM EDUCATION group, so this week we start researching of it and also thinking about the questions, solution form the answer.

First of all, we gather own idea and some question for the client. So I just start with research about stem education first based on the basic information.

BACKGROUND  

Objective: To launch a new brand identity and ecommerce store for a STEM educational brand  


Executive Summary:  

Our objective is to introduce and promote a new STEM box brand, aimed at parents of children aged  7-14 who want to provide an educational and fun learning experience for their kids. We're not just  selling STEM kits, we're selling a whole new experience. Our kits come with instructional videos that  are taught by experienced STEM instructors in a fun and interactive way. It's like having your own  personal STEM teacher at home.

Target Audience Profile:  

  • The target audience consists of parents aged 30-45 

  • They value the importance of digital learning and educational activities that promote their children's intellectual development 

  • Place importance on following a methodical approach in their children's education 

  • Positive attitude towards STEM education and the benefits it provides for their children's future 

  • Open-minded towards innovative ways of learning, even if it involves toys or games 

  • Willingness to invest in educational materials that will benefit their children's academic  development

Challenges: 

The launch of a new STEM Education brand presents several challenges, including:

  • Competition: The STEM toy market is highly competitive, with many established brands and  products already in the market. Therefore, it will be challenging to differentiate a new STEM  box brand from the existing ones. 

  • Perceived value: Some parents may view STEM toys as expensive, and may not be willing to spend a lot of money on a new brand that they are not familiar with. It is important to  demonstrate the value of the product and convince potential customers to purchase it. 

  • Product differentiation: It will be challenging to differentiate a new STEM box brand from existing ones, especially if the features and benefits of the product are similar to those of  other products in the market. Our instructional videos needs to be highlighted.    


Key Insight: Although STEM kits are prevalent in the market, there is a lack of brand loyalty as parents  struggle to discern the tangible value that the kits provide towards their child's academic  development. 

  

Brand Statement:  

Elevate Your Dad Game:  

Bringing STEM instructors to your living room 

REQUIREMENTS 

  1. Business Research  

    1. Target Audience Research: 

      1. Focus on gathering information about the demographic and  psychographic profiles of the target audience, including their values, attitudes, behaviors, and  motivations. This research will inform the development of marketing and advertising  messages that resonate with the target audience.

    2. Competitor Analysis:  

      1. Identify the main competitors in the family products market and analyze their strengths and weaknesses 

      2. Assess the size and growth of the market and the potential for the brand  

  2. Brand Identity:  

Develop a strong brand identity that reflects the target audience's values and lifestyle. The following  deliverables are proposed to achieve this goal:

  1. Brand name: Research and suggest a unique brand name that reflects the values and  personality of the brand

  2. Logo Design: A distinctive and memorable logo that represents the STEM education brand and appeals to the target audience.

  3. Tone of voice: A set of guidelines that outlines the brand's tone of voice including information  on the brand personality, tone, language, and messaging.

  4. Visual Identity: A visual identity that includes distinctive brand assets, a color palette,  typography, and imagery style that aligns with the brand's values and appeals to the target  audience.

  1. Marketing Deliverables  

    1. Social Media Content: Social media content strategy and calendar, including posts, stories, list  of influencers to partner, that promotes STEM education and engages the target audience.

    2. eCommerce Design and Website Design: A landing page design that effectively communicates  the brand values and displays the products aesthetically.


PRODUCT INFORMATION 

  • Our STEM kits come complete with all necessary materials and assembly instructions to build  a specific project, as well as corresponding curriculum materials.

  • What sets our STEM kits apart is their unique versatility - while each kit is designed for a  specific project, the combination of parts can be creatively used to build new toys and inspire  imagination.

  • Additionally, each kit unlocks exclusive video content created by accredited STEM education  experts.

  • Our kits are also carefully mapped to align with various curriculum types, allowing parents to  select the kits that best complement their child's current learning in school. 

 



What is STEM?

S: Science / Finding laws for an event through experimentation and observation
T: Technology / Finding the best conditions or mechanisms for a given event
E: Engineering / Designing a mechanism or making something useful for many people
M: Mathematics / To express and use quantities logically.

The acronyms of each of these terms are used to refer to the educational fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
STEM education is a 21st century educational system that focuses on education in these four fields of study and aims to produce a large number of internationally competitive individuals who can adapt to the IT society and global society.
However, the goal of STEM education is not only to produce people who excel in science and technology, but also to nurture children who can learn and understand on their own. The conventional "teacher teaches, student learns" style of learning will not produce individuals who can master artificial intelligence (AI). It is necessary to cultivate the spontaneity, creativity, judgment, and problem-solving skills required for the new era. This is the essential goal of STEM education.

The ability to learn spontaneously, to understand and discover for oneself will eventually lead to the development of unique creativity.
From the viewpoint that creativity, not just mastery of technology, is more in demand today, an increasing number of schools are now advocating STEAM education, which combines STEM with A (Art or Arts).



Characteristics of STEM Education

The characteristics of STEM education can be divided into three main categories: learning across the four fields of education, emphasizing practical skills, and active learning (encouraging students to participate actively in the classroom).

  • Learning across the four fields of education
Until now, the mainstream educational method has been to study each field separately and in a vertical manner. In STEM education, each of the four fields of study is linked and studied in a cross-disciplinary manner, fostering more flexible thinking and developing human resources capable of dealing with complex problems.

  • Emphasis on practical skills
STEM education is not passive, as in conventional educational systems, but active, hands-on, creative education. This educational system cultivates practical skills.
Feature 3: Active learning
In hands-on, creative classes, children are encouraged to use their own ingenuity to solve problems when faced with them. This enables them to learn independently.

Why STEM Education?

Conventional education has primarily focused on efforts that delve deeply into a single field of study. STEM education, however, involves learning across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By learning across disciplines, the goal is to cultivate the ability to discover and solve problems that straddle the boundaries of each field. In today's increasingly complex and diverse society, having such broad knowledge and perspective will be a very important ability in the course of work and research.

The ability to proactively discover problems is also essential to such work and research, and the experiential and creative learning that takes place in STEM education will help to develop these abilities. All work and research begins with "awareness. STEM education fosters the ability to search for and notice problems. STEM education fosters the ability to look for and notice problems, and that is a job that cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

STEM education is effective even if your child's future career path is in the humanities. Our lives and jobs do not revolve around science and technology. Even if you do not directly handle the technology yourself, knowing how the world works will be an important weapon in surviving in today's increasingly complex and sophisticated society.

Examples of simple games that can lead to STEM education for children

STEM education can be further understood not only at school, but also at home by incorporating it into play and other activities. However, many people may think that STEM education at home sounds difficult. In fact, even without special machines, simple games that lead to STEM education can be incorporated into the home.

  • Play that can be expected to increase vocabulary and knowledge
This applies to games in which a theme is set as a subject and children take turns answering questions based on that theme. Not only does this increase children's vocabulary and knowledge, but it also fosters their ability to think about relationships.
Play that helps children develop mathematical thinking
This applies to games such as using playing cards to find pairs that add up to 10 and discard them. This can be expected to reduce a child's dislike of math.

  • Play to visualize shapes
This includes folding origami paper cranes and assembling blocks and puzzles to create objects. This not only develops the ability to visualize shapes, but also develops concentration and the ability to pursue the desired result. It is also expected to develop problem-solving skills that will enable the child to think about how to create this shape later on.

  • Play to enhance creativity
This applies to pretend play, such as playing make-believe. Creating something out of nothing, such as turning mud dumplings into a dish, can improve creativity, which is essential in STEM fields.

Points to Keep in Mind When Engaging in STEM Education at Home

STEM education, as imagined in our minds, can be effectively improved by incorporating it from early childhood, but in fact, there are different points to consider when tackling STEM education at different ages.

  • Early childhood (before entering elementary school)
In the early childhood stage, it is important to first be aware of the importance of being close to children so that they can do things that they enjoy, and prioritize their desire to "do more" and "learn more" through play and other activities that incorporate STEM education. Also, playing with origami and blocks can help develop the senses of the fingers. Without the ability to give shape to images in their minds, children may give up, so toys that train the senses of the fingertips, which also directly lead to increased creativity, are essential.

In addition, you should never condemn what your child creates with such toys, even if it is something he or she does not understand. If a child cannot communicate what he or she has worked hard to create and is even criticized for it, he or she will be afraid of making mistakes and getting angry with adults. If this happens, the concept of STEM education, which encourages children to challenge themselves without fear of failure, will be greatly compromised.

  • Elementary School Children's Approach
During the elementary school years, be aware of developing an attitude of learning. It is important to give them time to think freely by allowing them to explore creative activities and things they like to do. The idea that "it's better to start over if you're wrong than to get it right," an attitude of challenge, and action are all very important in STEM education.

Playing with blocks helps students develop the ability to draw shapes in their minds before assembling them, the thinking ability to create them as they wish, and problem-solving skills. Since these skills are related to engineering elements, it can be expected to have an effect on STEM education. Some toys, called "STEM toys," can help children develop logical thinking skills. LEGO® bricks are a good example.

  • Junior High to High School Students
Since the ability to think and mathematical knowledge grows significantly from around junior high school age, it is important to be aware of the joy and pleasure of learning on their own. For example, in mathematics, the goal is not to get a score, but to understand the basic content. By doing so, you will help them experience the joy of learning and enhance their ability to solve problems required by STEM education. Once children have realized the joy of learning, encourage them to use it to help solve familiar problems. It can be about school, a game, or something unrelated to math.


Example of  the company or school which have stem education

Examples of the toys from Japan and others

- Week 2

We gathered the information of STEM Education, also prepared the question for doing summary. Also we tried to play the STEM kit as first our opinion. There is some kind of kits and which can be explored any shape.






After we experienced the kits, also create the questionnaire for parents and their children.



Also I prepared it as Japanese.



Next week, we are going to do analysis and think about the brand, product name and design.

- Week 3

This week, we got some feedback for the persona and advice for the questionnaire which we have to do next week. Also we were required to gather responses 50-70 to do more analysis than doing an interview, so we prepared the questions and the document for them.


- Week 4

Actually we did the questionnaire, but also we couldn’t gather the participants. So we tried to do it again and after that we gathered the information, data and did analysis. We started thinking about the brand name for this project as well, so we tried to do ideation and prepared it for logo design. We just tried to clarify the analysis by this week. 




- Week 5

After we did analysis, we discussed about the ideas and some problem statement to design.










●Submissions

the presentation slides




●Feedbacks

Experience:
My group had an engaging and interactive experience working on the STEAM Education kit design project. This hands-on approach to learning and problem-solving is an effective way to foster creativity and critical thinking skills. By conducting surveys and interviews, we took a user-centered approach, which is commendable. It shows that we value the opinions and needs of the people who will be using the kit.

Observation:
During the survey and interview analysis, we likely made several key observations. These observations could include patterns, common challenges, and preferences shared by the participants. By carefully analyzing the data, we were able to gain insights into the target audience's needs and expectations. These observations will serve as a foundation for developing a more effective and user-friendly STEAM Education kit.

Findings:
Based on your analysis, we have likely identified several findings that are crucial for improving the design of the STEAM Education kit. These findings could include specific pain points, areas for improvement, or opportunities to enhance the learning experience. By uncovering these findings, we are now equipped with valuable information that will guide our design decisions and help we create a more impactful product.
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