Collaborative Design Practice - Task 3 : Project Ideation Prototype

26/10/2025 - 7/11/2025  ( Week 5 - Week 10 )

Ho Winnie / 0364866 

Collaborative Design Practice / Bachelor's of Design Honors In Creative Media 

Task 3 : Project Ideation Prototype

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1. Task 3 : Project Ideation Prototype  

2. Feedback 

3. Reflection

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1. Task 3 : Project Ideation Prototype

Requirements : 

This group project aims for you to collaborate in multi-disciplinary groups to write creative briefs, create designs that fit the user experience of the project outcome and produce the prototypes or mock-ups for user-testing that suits the table-top game.

Progression : 

After finalising our concept and low-fidelity sketches, we moved into the prototype phase, where our goal was to translate our ideas into polished, high-fidelity mockups. This stage focused on turning sketches into finished assets, unifying the visual identity, and preparing physical components that reflect the final look and feel of Gluconomy.

1. Token Production — Team Effort

All of us worked together to produce the physical tokens. We laser-cut the wooden pieces, hand-painted them using our six pastel brand colours, and finished them with a matte coating to achieve a clean, tactile aesthetic. This became a shared craftsmanship task that strengthened the handmade charm of the game.

To produce our final tokens, I booked the Laser Cut Studio so we could fabricate the wooden pieces professionally. Guo Ying took the initiative to prepare the necessary AI cutting file, ensuring every token matched our intended shape and size. Once the laser cutting was completed, our entire team gathered to sand, paint, and coat each token by hand. This collaborative effort—captured in Melvin’s photos—made the tokens feel even more meaningful, as every piece reflected our shared craftsmanship and attention to detail.

2. Game Cards (Stock Cards + Power Cards) — By Me, Yanny, Hui Yi

Our sub-team handled the complete visual development of the card systems.

• Stock Cards: Illustrated food items with rising/falling market metaphors based on glucose levels.

• Power Cards: Featured character-based glucose mascots performing each game action.

Stock Cards -

For my part in the card design, I began by illustrating the six key foods that would be used in our Stock Market system — three vegetables and three fruits, each chosen for their different glucose levels. 

From there, I started drafting the overall visual direction for both the “up” and “down” stock cards. The upward cards were conceptualised as energetic, showing the fruit riding a spacecraft or rocket soaring along an economy arrow to represent a glucose spike. 

During the refinement stage, Hui Yi suggested reducing the corner roundness of the card frames to create a cleaner and more modern silhouette. We applied this adjustment to both the stock and power cards, which immediately improved visual balance and made the cards feel more structured. Alongside this, we also fine-tuned the colour palette — adjusting saturation, contrast, and background tones — to ensure the illustrations, icons, and text stood out clearly. These changes helped us achieve the final cohesive look that matched our overall brand direction.

In contrast, the downward cards featured the food character looking tired or depressed, slowly walking down a declining arrow to depict lower glucose levels. These early drafts helped establish the tone, storytelling, and scientific metaphor that guided the final card designs.

We also experimented with several visual styles before locking in the final Stock Market card design. This included testing different compositions, icon placements, background patterns, and illustration scales to see which version felt the clearest and most balanced. Each iteration helped us refine how the food character interacted with the downward arrow, how much breathing space the card needed, and how readable the text would be during gameplay. By comparing these variations side-by-side, we were able to identify the most effective layout — one that maintained clarity, personality, and visual harmony within the overall brand system.

First Overview of Stock Market Cards

After finalising our layout structure and illustration direction, we produced the first complete set of high-fidelity Stock Market cards. This initial overview allowed us to visualise how all six foods—three representing glucose dips and three representing glucose spikes—would work together as a cohesive system. 

The negative cards feature vegetables illustrated walking down declining economy arrows, capturing the idea of low glucose and slow market days. Meanwhile, the positive cards show fruits blasting upward on rockets, symbolising higher glucose levels and energetic market growth. Seeing the full range side-by-side helped us ensure visual consistency, balance in colour and tone, and clarity in how players read card effects during gameplay.

Second Overview of Stock Market Cards (After Feedback)

Following our first review, we refined the Stock Market cards based on feedback that encouraged clearer communication and stronger visual balance. In this second overview, we reduced the amount of descriptive text to make each card easier and faster for players to read during gameplay. We also improved the alignment by centering key elements—such as the illustrations, arrow directions, and glucose values—so that the overall layout felt more balanced and visually appealing. These adjustments not only enhanced readability but also strengthened the consistency across the entire card set, making the effects more intuitive for players to understand at a glance.

Power Cards - 

For the power cards, we designed six different ability types, and I was responsible for creating three of them: Jail, Steal, and Shield. I began by producing the first rough digital illustrations for these cards, focusing on how our glucose mascot could visually communicate each action in a fun and readable way. 

After receiving feedback from Mr. Shamsul as well as my illustration teammates, Yanny and Hui Yi, we identified that the power cards would feel more cohesive if the glucose mascots shared a unified expression style. Based on this, we refined the characters by standardising their facial features, adjusting their poses, and polishing the overall visual details. These improvements helped create a more consistent personality across all power cards while enhancing clarity and readability. The updated illustrations also aligned better with our overall brand direction, resulting in a cleaner and more polished card set.

Final Version of Our Power Cards

Below is the finalised set of our power cards, showcasing the polished illustrations, unified character expressions, and consistent visual language developed through multiple rounds of refinement. These final designs clearly communicate each ability while aligning with the playful, cohesive identity of Gluconomy.

Cards Back Design - Power Card + Stock Card 

First Design of Card Backs (Power & Stock Cards)

This was our first iteration of the back designs for both the Power Cards and Stock Market Cards. In this stage, we explored how our glucose mascot could serve as the central visual element to unify all card types. By pairing the mascot with subtle background patterns and soft pastel tones, we aimed to establish a friendly, cohesive aesthetic that fits the overall identity of Gluconomy.

For the Power Card backs, we incorporated a warm yellow-pink palette with a lightning bolt icon to reflect action and energy. Meanwhile, the Stock Market backs used cooler green tones paired with dollar motifs to represent economic movement. This early version allowed us to test how colour, iconography, and character placement worked together before refining the final layout.

Refined Back Design - Final Version

After multiple rounds of iteration and feedback, we refined the card backs to create a stronger visual hierarchy and clearer differentiation between the Stock Market and Power Cards. One of the key improvements was making our mascot stand out more prominently on the card. By enhancing the character’s contrast, adjusting its shading, and giving it a more defined shadow, the mascot now “pops” from the background and feels more lively and engaging.

To further improve visibility and categorisation, we introduced bold border colours—green for Stock Market cards and orange for Power Cards. These borders not only strengthen readability from a distance but also help players quickly distinguish card types during gameplay. The final result is a set of card backs that feel polished, vibrant, and aligned with the overall Gluconomy identity.

Packaging Design -

For the packaging phase, our team divided the responsibilities to ensure every side of the box was thoughtfully designed and consistent with the overall Gluconomy identity. I took charge of the front cover and the side panels, focusing on establishing a strong first impression through clear branding, mascot visibility, and key visual elements. 

Hui Yi handled the back cover, which included structuring the gameplay overview, listing components, and arranging the visual breakdown in a clean and informative layout. 

Yanny supported the process by helping to refine the overall design, ensuring alignment, colour harmony, and consistency across all faces of the packaging. This collaborative approach allowed us to create a cohesive, professional, and engaging box design that reflects the spirit of the game.

Front Design Exploration -

To establish the visual identity of our game box, I explored two distinct packaging styles based on the team’s mixed preferences and feedback. Style 1 focused on a clean, minimal, pastel-driven composition that closely aligned with the overall art direction of Gluconomy. It emphasised soft gradients, simplified backgrounds, and character arrangements that matched the tone of our cards, boards, and mascot illustrations.

Style 2, on the other hand, experimented with richer scenery, fuller backgrounds, and more dynamic compositions to create a livelier, storybook-like presentation. Although visually expressive, this approach felt slightly detached from the softer, more cohesive visual system used throughout the game assets.

After reviewing both options, the team agreed that Style 1 was the stronger choice, as it maintained consistency with our established graphic language and preserved the light, playful tone of the brand. The process shown from top to bottom illustrates how the layout, colours, and character placements were refined step-by-step to reach the final approved front-cover design.

Final Box Packaging

This is the completed box packaging, created through a full team collaboration between myself, Yanny, Hui Yi, and Guo Ying. I focused on the front and side visuals, establishing the overall aesthetic and character arrangement, while Hui Yi designed the back cover with clear gameplay summaries and visual breakdowns. Yanny contributed refinements across the entire layout, ensuring consistent alignment, colour balance, and clarity. Guo Ying handled the technical production side, preparing the dielines, bleed lines, and all printing requirements to ensure the artwork translated perfectly onto the physical box.

Together, we produced a polished, cohesive packaging design that captures the playful and educational spirit of Gluconomy, while meeting professional printing standards.

Showcasing the Final Game

To document the outcome of our project, we captured a series of photos showcasing the full Gluconomy game set after all components were assembled. The images highlight the completed packaging, the rulebook, the laser-cut pastel tokens, the power and stock cards, the ATP cash, and both the main and personal boards. Seeing everything together in one box allowed us to appreciate how each element—designed and refined across different team members—came together into a cohesive, professional-looking final product. These photos serve as visual proof of our collaborative effort and the craftsmanship behind every component of the game.

Presenting to Dr Luqman ( Head Of Design School ) , Ms Anis & Mr Shamsul 

We presented the completed Gluconomy game to Dr. Luqman (Head of Design School), Ms. Anis, and Mr. Shamsul, showcasing the full set of final components—from the boards and tokens to the cards, packaging, and manual. 

The response was overwhelmingly positive, with the panel praising our cohesive visual style, strong teamwork, and the overall clarity of the gameplay system. 

Alongside these compliments, we also received valuable constructive feedback, particularly regarding opportunities to strengthen the thematic connection between the packaging, manual guide, and the in-game mechanics. 

We accepted this feedback with gratitude, and it provided meaningful insight on how we can further refine the visual storytelling and cohesiveness of the Gluconomy experience. Overall, the presentation was a success and reaffirmed the effort and collaboration our team put into this project.

Compiling Final Assets Together 

To conclude the presentation, I created a comprehensive slide that brings together all our final assets in one cohesive overview. This slide showcases every major component of the Gluconomy game — the main board, personal boards, power cards, stock cards, tokens, ATP cash, mascot system, logo, packaging, and manual guide. By assembling everything side-by-side, the slide demonstrates the full visual identity we developed, highlighting the consistency of our colour palette, illustration style, and thematic integration between bioscience and economy. It served as a clear summary of our collaborative work and allowed our lecturers to appreciate the final product as a unified, well-designed system.

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2. Feedback

Week 11 : 

Dr. Luqman shared that our manual guide and packaging could benefit from a stronger thematic connection to reinforce the overall identity of The Gluconomy. Strengthening this alignment would help create a more immersive and cohesive experience. Despite that, he commended the team for producing high-quality printed prototypes and well-executed design work, acknowledging the strong effort put into making the game fully playable. 

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3. Reflection

Experience -

Working on The Gluconomy was both exciting and incredibly challenging. Designing so many interconnected elements — from cards to tokens, boards, mascots, and packaging — required constant balancing between bioscience accuracy and economic metaphors. It was stressful at times, especially ensuring every component felt cohesive under one unified visual direction. However, I’m deeply grateful for my team, especially the illustration team ( Yanny , Hui Yi ) , who worked alongside me on card designs and packaging. Their willingness to share the load, give constructive feedback, and refine ideas together made this heavy process manageable and meaningful.

Observation -

Throughout the project, I realised how much a game’s clarity and identity rely on consistency — not just visually, but thematically. Small misalignments between art, communication, and gameplay easily weaken the experience, and we saw this through lecturer feedback on our guidebook and packaging. I also observed how valuable collaborative iteration is; every improvement in the cards, mascot expressions, and layout came from group discussions, critiques, and willingness to redesign. The more we aligned our design decisions with the core concept of glucose-as-currency, the stronger the game identity became.

Findings -

This project reaffirmed several important lessons:

• Good design takes time, teamwork, and many rounds of refinement.

• Interdisciplinary themes require careful translation — blending bio and economy visually was tricky but achievable with consistent symbols, metaphors, and character design.

• Feedback is crucial — the insights from Dr. Luqman, Ms. Anis, and Mr. Shamsul helped us recognise blind spots and strengthen our thematic cohesion.

• Lastly, I found deep appreciation for the original gameplay created by the group; it gave us a strong foundation to build a polished, cohesive, and educational visual world.