Application Design I /Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal

23.9.2024 -13.10.2024 /Week 1- Week 4 

Angel Tan Xin Kei / 0356117  

Application Design 1 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media  

Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal  

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Index ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

• Instructions
• Lectures  
• Week 1: Introduction to Mobile Application Design 
• Week 2: The Art of User-Centered Design 
• Week 3: Usability: Designing Products for User Satisfaction  
• Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal 
• A. Proposal Drafting 
• B. Research 
• C. Presentation Final Mobile Application Proposal  
• Feedbacks 
• Reflections 

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Instruction ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Module Information Booklet

Introduction

• Purpose: Revamp existing mobile app to elevate user experience and interface quality.
• Stress the pivotal role of mobile app design in shaping user contentment.

Background and Context

• Evaluate current app's design and functionalities.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Competative analysis.
• Gain insights into user demographics and requirements.

Goals and Objectives

• Establish clear objectives for the redesign initiative.
• Prioritize addressing current deficiencies and enhancing user satisfaction.
• Define primary and secondary goals to align with user expectations.
• Developing your design strategy

User Research

• Detail methodologies for conducting user research.
• Describe the methods you will utilize to collect user feedback and gain insights.
• Devise a robust plan for user testing and validation.

Reference

• Curate pertinent articles, books, and design samples for inspiration.

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Lectures ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Lecture 1: Introduction to Mobile Application Design 

Understanding Usability:

• Defining Usability     
• Applying Usability Principles - navigation, information architecture, and visual hierarchy     
• Conducting Usability Testing     
• Developing Practical Skills

Importance of mobile in digital era: 

• Ubiquity of smartphones 
• Mobile-first approach 
• Shift in user behaviour 
• Competitive advantage 

However, the mobile application design is embracing the challenges of:  

• Limited screen real estate 
• Diverse device capabilities 
• Contextual awareness

User-Centered Design (UCD) focuses on deeply understanding the target users and their needs. It can be applied by:  

• Research: Gather insights into user needs, behaviours and pain points, establishing the solid understanding of the target audience's specific requirements. 
• Design: Begin creating wireframes, prototypes and mockups that address the identified user needs. 
• Evaluation: Usability testing and user feedback helps validate design decisions and identify areas of improvement.  

Designing for Mobile Usability:

• Understand User Needs
• Prioritize Key Features
• Optimize for Mobile
• Validate and Iterate

Benefits of UCD are:  

• Increased user satisfaction 
• Improved product adoption 
• Reduce development costs 
• Enhanced brand reputation 

Prototyping and Testing: 

• Lo-fi Prototypes
• Interactive Prototype
• Iterative Testing

Optimizing mobile app performance is crucial for delivering a seamless user experience. Key strategies include minimizing app size, leveraging caching and lazy loading techniques, and optimizing network requests and data transmission.

By prioritizing performance, can reduce load times, conserve device battery, and ensure app remains responsive even on older or lower-end devices.

Lecture 2: The Art of User-Centered Design 

UCD is the overall philosophy that considers the needs of the users. It provides framework and the foundation to create a product that's both user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.  UX: Focuses on the functionality, ensuring both smooth and functional interaction. UI: Deals with the visual perception and interaction, bringing the UX to life visually.  

UCD Process:  

• Discover: Business Requirements (brand vision, goals & objective, target audience, competitors), User Personas (motivations, goals, triggers, needs.) 
• Define: Ideation (campaign, website, software, product), Experience Mapping (user journey map, user scenario） 
• Design: User Experience (user flow- task and feature analysis), User Interface (sitemap and prototype) 
• Validate: Usability Testing, Prototype Validation, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) 
• Develop: Production - coding

Utility : Design begins with being functional.

Usability: People can easily use it.

Desirability: Visual appearance, feel

Brand Experience: Positive brand experience

Lecture 3: Usability: Designing Products for User Satisfaction 

Usability:

• The effectiveness, efficiency, and success of a user in utilising a product or design within a specific context. 
• Clarity and Learnability 
• How intuitively can users understand the interface layout and functionalities upon first encountering it? 
• Can they find what they need without prior experience or needing to consult a manual? 
• Efficiency and Goal Completion 
• Does the interface guide users towards achieving their goals in the most straightforward and time-saving manner? 
• Does it minimise unnecessary steps or complexities? 
• Common Pitfalls: complex interface, confusing navigation, lack of clear Calls-to-Action, and inadequate error handling 

Key Principles of Usability:

1. Consistency:

• Consistent = User-Friendly
• Cohesive Experience
• Intuitive Navigation
• Familiarity and Learnability
• Stronger Brand Identity

2. Simplicity

• Effortless to Use
• Crystal Clear Communication
• Progressive Disclosure

3. Visibility

• Clarity and Hierarchy
• Focus and Attention
• Key features of visibility

4. Feedback

• Confirmation and Clarity
• Guidance and Learning

5.Error Prevention

• Reduced Frustration
• Increased Efficiency
• Improved Accuracy

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

In the beginning of the week, Mr Zeon brief about the User-Centered Design and instructed us to choose three application that we believe could benefit from making enhancements in their app design. Besides, we also need identify all existing drawbacks and propose potential solutions.

After a few day of research, my field of studies are deeply focusing on three apps which are petrol, car, and supermarket loyalty program applications.After surveying, here are my 3 options for apps redesign:   

1.TGV Cinema

2. MBO CInema 

3. Shell Asia app

A.Proposal Drafting

After consultation, Mr. Zeon said the apps are widely used and suggested to avoid using similar industry in proposal like MBO and TGV Cinema yet these apps are very famous and widely used as an examples to improvised. Instead, I should consider focusing on a different type of app in proposal for a more unique approach.

Option #1 TGV Cinema App

Option #2 MBO Cinema App

Option #3 Shell Asia App

Afterward, I switched to a different application in a new field of use, choosing the supermarket loyalty program the Bites, which is quite popular with Village Grocer customers.

Option #1 The Bites App

Here is the Link for the Draft Proposal :

Application Design Proposal Draft

After consultation with Mr Zeon, he suggested me to proceed with the Bites Card application instead of Shell Asia app as it hasn't been explore yet and  see potential in enhancement of the app.

B.Research

Mr. Zeon suggested using a website called SimilarWeb, which allows us to research the demographics of app users. It provides valuable insights into user behavior, audience geography, traffic sources, and overall app performance. 

By analyzing these metrics, we can better understand the target audience and figure out our strategies more effectively on designing app. Using SimilarWeb will also help in making data-driven decisions when comparing competitors or assessing the app’s market position.

The Bites on Similar Web

The Bites on Similar Web

Then, The Bites app did not have much monopoly kind of competitors in term of supermarket so I have used ECO-Shop My Guardian and Lotus Malaysia App as the competitors analysis.

Researching on Competitor Apps

I also conducted a comparison with other competitors to gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis helped me identify areas where I could improve my current design, ensuring that it stands out and meets user needs more effectively.

After emailing Mr Zeon my proposal, he feedback that my weaknesses cold be improvised by streamlining with the feedback on the app ratings so that can achieve target audience needs and satisfaction.

C. Presentation Final Mobile Application Proposal 

In-Class Presentation

I noticed that one of my classmates included a competitive analysis table in their presentation, which I found to be a great addition thus I decided to incorporate it into my own presentation.

Competitors App Analysis

Application Name: The Bites Card

Category: Groceries Shopping / Loyalty Programme 

Target Audiences: Village Grocers Clients / Young Families who home-cooked

Age: 24-35 years old

The Bites is a digital loyalty program by Village Grocer offers members a variety of exclusive privileges, enhancing their shopping experience across multiple platforms, including Village Grocer, Ben’s Independent Grocer (B.I.G.), BSC Fine Foods, Leisure Grocer, and the Bites Shop e-commerce platform.
Members can earn points that can be redeemed for cash vouchers, product treats, food and beverage vouchers, eco-friendly products, and charitable donations.Additionally, this app serves as communication tool, keeping users informed about the latest promotions and store events.

The purpose of studying the Bites Card app is to gain insights that guide this application development, enhance the user experience, and ultimately improve business performance in the supermarket industry with just seamless retail on-the-go experience.

Here is the Link for the Final Application Design Proposal :

Application Design Proposal

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Feedback ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Week 1

Mr. Zeon provided an overview of first project which is selecting three commonly used applications that require improvements and instructed us to draft a proposal.

Week 2

The feedback highlighted that both the first and second applications (TGV Cinema and MBO Cinema) undergoes same category, so suggested to find an alternative app. The Shell Asia app was noted as a good option, but every app was recommended to further explore the weaknesses of all three apps by reviewing feedback from the Google Play Store.

Week 3

After reviewing the draft proposal, the focus shifted to the first loyalty Bites app, which was deemed a strong choice since it's widely used but not extensively analyzed. The weaknesses were well-identified, and the final proposal should align the app’s ratings with the areas for improvement.

Week 4

It is presentation week, comment is can increase user engagement for the next app’s redesign phase.

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Reflection ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Experience

While finding application to conduct research and explore, I realized that UIUX play a dominant roles in these application and users. After conducting research on the three selected applications that I chosen, I gained significant insights into the process of analyzing app performance and user experience. Gathering data from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, I reviewed user feedback and ratings, which helped to understand common pain points. Additionally, apps in similar categories, such as TGV and MBO Cinemas, face overlapping challenges but require distinct solutions to enhance usability and engagement. Drafting the proposal allowed me to enhance my research skills, particularly in identifying key areas for improvement and articulating actionable recommendations. Engaging with the weaknesses of each app gave me a better understanding of user expectations and what makes an app successful.

Observation

Throughout the research, I noticed several recurring issues across different apps, such as poor navigation, lack of user-friendly features, bad readability due to bad typography using, and cluttered interfaces. Apps with a strong user experience prioritize simplicity and direct access to key features. One key observation was during peers presentation, I realized that users demographic and the app primary goals is significant when directing the future improvisation and redesign the application.

Findings

The most significant finding was my own selection the Bites app, although widely used, had not been extensively studied or reviewed in terms of its weaknesses, making it a prime candidate for further analysis. User reviews highlighted several opportunities for improvement, particularly regarding the layout of the rewards page, navigation issues, and lack of personalization on the profile page. I found that it is very essential to have elements to enhance users engagement like gamification and transactions.