Application Design 1 / Projects

 


30.3.2022 - 14.7.2022  (Week 1 - 16)
Lew Se Win / 0347637 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Application Design 1
Project 1 & 2: UI/UX Design Proposal Documentation
Project 3: Lo-fi Protoype
Project 4: Mobile App Prototype


LECTURES 

Week 1 
Mr. Hafiz briefed us about this module and he asked us to study our most frequently used app. 

Week 2
Mr. Hafiz was sick so we do not have class this week. 

Week 3
Mr. Hafiz gave a lecture about the UI/UX design essentials. 
  • Clarity 
  • Familiarity 
  • Consistency 
  • Forgiveness 
  • Efficiency 
Week 4 
Mr. Hafiz continues the lecture and we are required to do HCW statements this week. 

Essentials: 
  • Clarity
  • Familiarity
  • Consistency
  • Forgiveness
  • Efficiency

Week 5
This week Mr. Hafiz used class time for individual consultation. 

Week 6
This week Mr. Hafiz gave us another lecture on digital documentation for app design. 

Documentation:
  • Overview (define)
    • Project summary
    • Problem (HCW)
    • Solution (SWOT)
    • Definition (Role/Duration)
  • Discovery (empathize)
    • Market Research
    • User Research
    • User Personas
    • Key Findings
  • Design (ideate)
    • Sketch
    • Wireframe
    • Usability prototyping
    • Key Findings
  • Prototype 
    • Final Design
    • Prototype
    • Documentation
  • Handover
    • Engineer
    • Developer
    • Video Prototype
  • Improvements
    • Next steps
    • Long term Plan
Week 7
Independent learning week. However, Mr. Hafiz conducted another short consultation to check on our progress before submission. 

Week 12
Mr. Hafiz taught us about the design in this lecture. 

Usability: 
  • Clarity
  • Familiarity
  • User control
  • Hierarchy 
  • Negative space
  • Flexibility


INSTRUCTIONS


Project 1 & 2: UI/UX Design Proposal Documentation
Students are required to initiate proposal documentation for their mobile application project and produce the documentation in MIRO. Please share the MIRO board with hafiz.zamri@gmail.com

The mobile application categories can be:
Informational (How to), Services, Entertainment, Fitness, or Travel and its subject to preliminary approval by the module coordinator.

Task 1 
DISCOVERY SESSION Surveys, interviews, market studies, and research
HOW MIGHT WE Project Name, Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Key Proposition, Customer Relationship, Channels, Customer Segment, Cost Structure, Revenue Stream.

Task 2                            
STRATEGY AND GOAL STATEMENT Users and Brand Personas. Determine and verify their target audiences. Outline the content element of their app, and exercise the card sorting method to achieve optimum information architecture. Show and Tell. Mood boards (Pinterest).                          
MAP AND FLOWCHART How the thing works. User touchpoints. key features of the app, a clear flowchart (From Marketing, Appstore, Onboarding to the End Game). Listing the app features and identifying the app’s MVP. Sketching then wire-framing the screens. Plan the user interaction and interactivity         
   
The document will determine whether or not the app idea is good to continue to the next development phase. This task is an iterative process whereby during the assignment period, students are free to get feedback from their peers and the module coordinator to further refine their idea.

MIRO Board (progress documentation): 
Figure 2.0 Miro Board

Proposal for Submission: 


Figure 2.1 Final Proposal (Submission)


Figure 2.2 Revised Proposal

Project 3: Lo-fi Prototype
I created my lo-fi prototype using Figma. Besides, I also decided on the name for my app, which is "Grocey." The name was derived from the words "grocery" and "pricy". With that, it ended up being GROCEY as groceries are pricy nowadays. 

Figure 3.0 User flow chart with arrows

Figure 3.1 Progress

Figure 3.2 Lo-fi Prototype

Project 3: Lo-fi Prototype (User Test) 

Figure 3.2 User Test Recording

Figure 3.3 User test summary

Final Project : Mobile App Prototype

From low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes, I first added colours to the wireframes I did in the previous project. I will continue the project using Figma. However, I was not satisfied with the previous colour proposed in my proposal because I think the colours chosen previously did not reflect the "grocery" app. 


Figure 4.0 First colour

I then decided to do some research and find more references before I proceeded. 

Figure 4.1 Reference 1 from Behance

Figure 4.2 Reference 2 from Behance

Figure 4.3 Reference 3 from Behance

From the research, I realised that green would be the best colour to reflect the grocery app. I did think about having green as the main colour of my app at first during the proposal phase. I think it might be boring as most of the grocery-related apps are green. With that, I decided to go with cyan in my proposal. However, after extensive research, I have concluded that green may not be boring when paired with another bright colour, such as orange. At last, I decided to use #44AD9E (green) and #F37950 (orange) as the main colours for my app.

Figure 4.4 Colour Palette Before (top) vs After (bottom)

After deciding on the final colour palette, I continued to work on my prototype. 

Figure 4.5 Progress


To make my app look more interesting, I added some images and illustrations. For the category page, I first tried with images, then I tried with illustrations. 

Figure 4.6 Images Vs Illustrations

Figure 4.7 Illustration Progress

However, I realise both did not work out, and at the same time, I really think that I have to improve on my illustration skills. With that, I decided to get some illustrations from Freepik. 

Figure 4.8 Freepik Vector Art

Figure 4.9 Category Page

Figure 5.0 Progress

Later on, I also tried to make my prototype more interactive. 

Figure 5.1 Add and Minus Quantity Button

Figure 5.2 Dropdown Button

Next, I revise the app's navigation. 

Figure 5.3 Navigation

Following Mr. Hafiz's suggestion, I decided to grey out all the non-functioning buttons. 

Figure 5.4 Progress

Figure 5.5 Progress

Figure 5.6 Navigation (the crazy lines)

I did not change my money sign to RM because I think that the outcome will reduce familiarity as an expense icon. 

Figure 5.7 Expenses Icon

Final Submission

Figure 6.0 Final Grocey Prototype

Figure 6.1 Final Grocey Presentation


Figure 6.2 Final Grocey Video Walk Through

Figure 6.3 Final Presentation Slides 

  
Figure 6.4 Final Presentation Slides in PDF

FEEDBACK

Week 3
Mr. Hafiz said that a music streaming app and a banking app are both not a bad idea. However, it might not be a purely banking app; it could be like a transaction app that could gather every bank together. 

Week 5
Mr. Hafiz said that the banking app is very boring. He suggested me a few ideas as well as guided me through the SWOT analysis. Hence, I decided to change my idea to a grocery price comparison app. 

Week 8
Mr. Hafiz said that my sketches are good but remember to focus on the main features of the app. For example, taking Grab as an example, a comparison app could compare in terms of brand, price, and location.  

Week 11
Mr. Hafiz said that I could add flow chart arrows and unclip the vertical frame of the prototype. 

Week 12
Mr. Hafiz said that I should think about the order and not forget about the on-boarding process. The arrangement should be able to recalculate the distance and price. The stores can update the price + get voucher, while users can collect points after engaged eg: future DISCOUNTS (like shopee sales). 

Week 14
Mr. Hafiz said that I should grey out the non-functioning buttons and change the sign to RM. Besides, it is OK to add features to the app.


REFLECTION

Week 7
Application design is interesting and I learned a lot throughout the discovery and writing this proposal. Hence, I am looking forward to the next step in prototyping the app. 

Week 15
A ride on a roller coaster.  I realised after finishing this project that I still have a lot to learn about application design. This is due to the fact that I have been struggling until the end, and the application design is more difficult than I expected. Minor changes or adjustments will have a significant impact on the visual of the design. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy the process, but it wasn't as immersive as I expected. However, I am relieved that I was able to complete all of my assignments on time, and I thank Mr. Hafiz for his assistance throughout the semester. Mr. Hafiz's feedback is always insightful to me, and I greatly appreciate it.

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