Students will launch their Black History Month documentary project by engaging directly with local community leaders or grassroots organizations, conducting firsthand interviews, and producing structured empathy maps grounded in real quotes and observations to inform later problem definition and film design decisions.

Students will synthesize interview research about local Black community leaders or grassroots organizations into clear, evidence-based problem definitions that guide their documentary films. They will identify patterns across interviews, develop empathy artifacts, and craft a focused How Might We statement grounded in real quotes and insights.

Students will generate a wide range of documentary film concepts grounded in their How Might We statements, then evaluate and refine those ideas into 2–3 strong, user-centered film concepts ready for prototyping.

Students will build and refine low- to higher-fidelity prototypes of their Community Hero short documentaries, test them with users outside their teams, and document how feedback drives concrete revisions before final production.

Students will validate their refined short documentaries with authentic viewers, document final feedback, and present their design journey—tracing user research, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and iteration—at a culminating Community Film Festival-style presentation.