Students will launch the project by connecting personally to themes of resilience in Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, then conduct firsthand user research with real community members to understand how audiences experience stories about hope. They will document interview evidence and synthesize insights into structured empathy maps grounded in direct quotes.

Students will synthesize their interview findings and empathy maps into clear, evidence-based problem definitions that identify a specific user, their core need, and an insight about how stories of resilience can better connect with them. They will cluster patterns across interviews, draft and critique 'How Might We' statements, and revise based on peer feedback to ensure their problem framing is grounded in authentic user evidence rather than assumptions.

Students will generate and refine diverse exhibition concepts for “Resilience in Words and Cranes” by grounding every idea in real user interview evidence, exploring multiple distinct approaches, and selecting top concepts to carry into prototyping.

Students will build, test, and refine low- and medium-fidelity prototypes for their individual Resilience Story Design Portfolios and team exhibition installations, using real user feedback to drive documented iteration before moving to higher-fidelity versions.

Students will conduct a final validation round of their exhibition prototypes with new users, refine their installations and personal narratives based on feedback, and present their full design journey and live readings to an authentic audience at the "Resilience in Words and Cranes" exhibition.