Design Research Dissertation - Task 1
TASK 1- DRAFT DISSERTATION
WEEK 01 - WEEK 14Aina Ahmed Aleem | 0355701 | BDCM
Assignment 1: Research Implementation – Draft Dissertation
This individual assignment requires students to prepare a draft dissertation by combining relevant primary and secondary research. The dissertation must contain at least 7,000 words and critically analyse the selected research problem before presenting a clear conclusion.
The dissertation should include acknowledgements, an abstract, table of contents, list of figures and tables, introduction, research background, problem statement, research objectives and questions, conceptual framework, literature review, methodology, research findings, analysis and discussion, conclusion, recommendations for future research, references, picture credits and appendices.
Students must present their progress during weekly tutorials and record the lecturer’s feedback using the individual tutorial feedback form. The final dissertation draft must be converted to PDF and submitted with a cover sheet through the required digital platforms, e-portfolio blog and Turnitin for plagiarism and AI-writing checks.
Before writing my draft dissertation, I reviewed four academic articles related to graphic design, activism and social change. The articles explored emotional communication in graphic design, digital media in environmental activism, participatory pictogram design for Indigenous communities and the wider role of visual communication in creating social impact. I compared their arguments, methods, strengths and limitations to understand how graphic design can attract attention, communicate meaning and encourage public engagement. These articles helped me develop the main themes for my literature review and supported my research topic on balancing aesthetic appeal with meaningful communication in campaign design.
Following the completion of my literature review, I began developing my draft dissertation, which brought together all of my research into a complete academic paper. My dissertation, Graphic Design in Activism: Balancing Aesthetic Appeal and Meaningful Communication in Campaign Design, explored how graphic design influences audience engagement within social activism campaigns and examined the relationship between visual design elements and meaningful communication. To support the research, I conducted an online questionnaire using the HeForShe campaign poster as a case study, allowing me to analyse how participants perceived visual appeal, message clarity, and emotional impact. The findings highlighted that while strong visuals such as imagery and colour are effective in attracting attention, meaningful engagement depends on clear communication, emotional relevance, and authenticity.
Completing the draft dissertation also gave me the opportunity to receive valuable feedback from my lecturer before moving on to the final submission. The feedback recognised the dissertation's clear research direction and appropriate methodology while identifying areas for improvement, including deeper critical discussion, stronger integration between the literature review and findings, and further refinement of the writing and presentation. These comments provided a clear roadmap for strengthening the final dissertation.
This stage was one of the most significant milestones in my research journey, as it allowed me to consolidate months of reading, data collection, analysis, and writing into a complete dissertation while preparing it for its final refinement.
I received constructive feedback from my lecturer that highlighted both the strengths of my work and the areas that required further development before the final submission. The feedback recognised that my dissertation had a clear research direction, well-aligned research objectives and questions, an appropriate quantitative methodology, and organised findings that provided a solid foundation for the final dissertation.
At the same time, I was advised to strengthen several aspects of the dissertation, including articulating the research gap more clearly, synthesising the literature review rather than describing individual studies, and providing deeper critical analysis by linking the findings more closely with the literature. Additional feedback included expanding the dissertation to meet the required word count, improving consistency in formatting and academic writing, proofreading the document, and revising sections highlighted by the AI writing report to ensure the final dissertation reflected my own academic writing. Overall, the feedback gave me a clear direction for refining my research and improving the overall quality and academic rigour of the final dissertation.
Experience
Developing my draft dissertation was a significant milestone in my research journey. It required me to combine months of literature review, primary research, data analysis, and academic writing into one cohesive dissertation. Although managing the different chapters and ensuring consistency throughout the paper was challenging, the process helped me improve my organisation, time management, and academic writing skills. Receiving feedback on a complete draft also gave me a clearer understanding of how research develops through continuous revision and refinement.
Observations
One of my key observations was that writing a dissertation involves much more than presenting information. It requires critical analysis, logical organisation, and strong connections between the literature, methodology, findings, and discussion. The lecturer's feedback highlighted the importance of strengthening the research gap, synthesising literature instead of describing individual sources, and providing deeper analysis by relating the findings back to existing research. I also realised the importance of careful proofreading, consistent formatting, and ensuring that the writing reflects my own academic voice.
Findings
This experience showed me that producing a strong dissertation is an iterative process that improves through constructive feedback and revision. The draft provided a solid foundation for my final dissertation while identifying areas that required further development. Overall, I gained valuable experience in conducting independent research, analysing quantitative data, and presenting findings in a structured academic format. The feedback also gave me a clear direction for refining my work and producing a stronger final dissertation.
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