Students will investigate the needs, experiences, and aspirations of their school and local literacy community in order to ground the library design project in authentic user insight. Through direct observation, interviews, empathy mapping, and peer feedback, they will generate research artifacts that inform later problem definition and prototyping.

Students will synthesize empathy research from interviews and observations to define clear, user-centered problem statements that guide the design of the 11th Grade Commons library space and book club experience. They will analyze patterns in stakeholder data, construct empathy artifacts, draft and refine design challenge statements, and defend their definitions in a milestone review before moving into ideation.

Students will generate a wide range of human-centered design concepts for the 11th Grade Commons library space, book club experience, grant strategy, and marketing campaign. They will move from divergent brainstorming to structured concept development, receive peer feedback, and select one high-potential direction per team to carry into prototyping.

Students will build and refine testable prototypes for the 11th Grade Commons library, grant proposals, and book club marketing plans. They will create scale models and drafts, engage in structured peer critique, revise based on feedback, and complete a milestone prototype review before moving into public testing and exhibition preparation.

Students will finalize and validate the 11th Grade Commons library design, complete and present their literary analysis essays and facilitation plans, and host a public Book Club Exhibition that showcases the finished space, grant proposals, marketing campaign, and student-led discussions with community partners.