Design Research Methodology
ZHOU XINYI / 0378623
Design Research Methodology
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
1.Module Information
2.Final Report
Task 1 Research Proposal& Task 2 Critical Review
Task 3 Primary data & analysis
Task4
3.Presentation Slides
4.Presentation Video
5.Feedback
6.Reflection
Experiences
Working on this research was a meaningful experience for me, especially as a Digital Animation student. Before starting this study, I was already interested in animation characters, but I mainly focused on how they looked or whether they were visually appealing. This research pushed me to think more deeply about how character design affects audience emotions and emotional connection.
Designing the online survey was both interesting and challenging. I needed to make sure the questions were easy to understand and not too professional, so that participants could answer based on their real feelings rather than technical knowledge. Choosing the characters for the survey also took time, because I wanted them to clearly represent different roles and emotional impressions. When I finally started receiving responses, it was very rewarding to see how people described their emotional reactions to the characters. It made me realize that even small design details can leave a strong impression on audiences.
Observations
While analyzing the survey results, several points stood out to me. First, I noticed that audiences are very sensitive to character emotions, especially through facial expressions and movement. Many participants could easily understand how a character felt just by looking at their expressions or body language, even without any dialogue. This showed me how important visual storytelling is in animation.
Another strong observation was that story background played a bigger role than I expected. Although my research focused on visual design, most participants said that a character’s background and story were the most important factors in helping them feel emotionally connected. This helped me understand that character design does not work alone, but always works together with storytelling.
I also observed how clearly different design styles created different emotional responses. Soft shapes and bright colors were often linked to positive emotions, while sharp shapes and dark colors created negative or tense feelings. These reactions were very consistent across participants, which made the results feel reliable.
Findings
From this research, I learned that animation character design has a strong and direct impact on how audiences feel. Characters are not remembered only because they look good, but because their design supports their personality, role, and emotions in the story. Even characters that audiences dislike, such as villains, can still be considered successful designs if they communicate the intended emotions clearly.
This project also helped me understand that emotional connection is one of the most important parts of animation. Audiences want to feel something when they watch animation, and character design plays a key role in creating that feeling. As a future animator, this research reminded me that character design is not just about style or trends, but about communication and emotional storytelling. I believe these findings will influence how I design characters in my future animation projects.
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