Review your C4 design against this checklist:
Mark items that need attention. Identify your top 2-3 polish priorities for today.
Carol, will you pray for us today?
Finish Unit C strong, then launch into capstone ideation.
You'll know what to look for when polishing a design
You'll write user needs as testable hypotheses using two formats
You'll frame design challenges that hint at differentiation
You'll use brainstorming, observation, and SCAMPER to generate ideas
Part A: Quick warm-up and orientation (done!)
Part B: Learn the frameworks that will guide your capstone ideation
Work Session: Final polish on C5 (due tonight)
Today we finish rendering Unit C with excellence, then begin forming intent for Unit D.
The Capstone Project
People don't buy products — they "hire" them to make progress.
People don't want a quarter-inch drill.
They want a quarter-inch hole.
Better: They want to hang a picture to make their home feel complete.
The job is the progress someone wants to make in a particular circumstance.
Format A: Motivation-focused
"When [situation],
I want to [motivation],
so I can [outcome]."
Format B: Barrier-focused
"When I [context],
but [barrier],
help me [goal],
so I [outcome]."
Format A:
Format B:
Key insight: Job stories are hypotheses to test, not features to build.
"An app that tracks water intake"
"When I'm at work and forget to drink water, I want gentle reminders, so I can stay hydrated and avoid afternoon headaches."
What's wrong with the bad version? What's missing?
The format:
"I want to help [target audience] who want to [user need] by [avoiding pain point] and [improving value added] unlike [competitors]"
This frames your design challenge and hints at differentiation.
Genuinely helps people make progress
Captures attention without delivering value
Unit D requires value creation — your app must actually help people.
Ask yourself: Would users be grateful this exists, or just addicted to it?
Generate many ideas, then narrow to 3 with job stories or opportunity statements.
The goal: discover a problem worth solving, not invent a solution.
Due: Mar 2 @ 5:15pm (before Day 15)
Submit 3 opportunity statements OR 3 job stories
These are hypotheses you'll validate through user research.
You're NOT committing to an app idea yet — that comes after validation (D2).
AI tools will assist at every stage:
Brainstorm and refine ideas
Competitive analysis and insights
Translate sketches to digital
Generate visual directions
Paper sketches → AI → digital prototypes
The key: AI expands possibilities, but you make the decisions.
Discovering problems beats inventing solutions.
Job stories and opportunity statements force you to articulate who you're helping, why they need help, and what progress they're trying to make — before you design anything.
Details communicate professionalism.
As you polish C5 today, remember: portfolio reviewers notice inconsistent spacing in seconds. Sweating the details signals care.
Work Session: C5 Final Polish (120 min)
Due tonight @ 5:15pm: C5 Final High Fidelity Designs (single PDF, all pages)
Due Mar 2 @ 5:15pm: D1 Ideation — 3 opportunity statements OR 3 job stories
Mark issues as you find them — this becomes your fix-it list.