I’ve watched 2 big lectures and had some key feedback this week, heres my thoughts.

This week I received three pieces of feedback that have helped me rethink where my project needs to go next. Although they came from different places, they all seem to point towards the same thing: I need to understand the problem more deeply before deciding what I am designing.

Webinar 1 — Let the Research Lead the Design

My main takeaways were:

• Do not decide on the app too early.
• Research should build an argument for why a design intervention is needed.
• Look critically at what airports already provide and identify what is missing.
• Every design decision should eventually be traceable back to evidence.
• The final outcome does not need to solve every aspect of autistic travel.

The biggest shift for me was recognising that the design should emerge from the research, rather than using research to justify an idea I already have.

Webinar 2 — Analyse, Evaluate, Then Make

The second webinar helped me understand what I actually need to demonstrate at Master’s level:

• Move beyond collecting research into analysing and evaluating it.
• Compare academic research, lived experience, primary research and existing design.
• Experiment with multiple responses before settling on a final direction.
• Show iteration, testing and reflection through Studio Practice.
• Make the journey from research → design decision → outcome visible.

This made me realise that I probably have enough broad research now. The important thing is what I do with it.

Student Feedback — What Happens Before the Airport?

Student feedback made me step even further backwards.

Rather than only asking what makes an airport difficult once somebody is inside it, I need to ask:

• What might prevent an autistic adult from travelling in the first place?
• Is it anxiety, uncertainty, cognitive overload, sensory expectations or feeling that these spaces are not designed for them?
• Do they actually have a desire to travel?
• What circumstances make them use airports — holidays, work, visiting family or something else?
• What did I need when I first began travelling independently?
• What made an airport feel understandable or intimidating when I had little experience?
• How might my own experiences position me within this research?

This introduces an important stage that I had not considered enough: the barriers that exist before someone even reaches the airport.

Where I Go Next

My next step is therefore not thinking about the app.

I want to bring my existing research together and map the journey from:

Desire to travel → deciding to travel → preparing → arriving at the airport → navigating the airport → flying

At each stage I can identify the barriers, what currently exists to support them, and where there are genuine gaps.

My Main Takeaway

The biggest thing I have taken from all three pieces of feedback is:

Stop asking “What should my airport app do?” and start asking “What is actually preventing autistic adults from accessing independent travel, and where could design meaningfully intervene?”

That feels like a much stronger place to take the project next.