INTRODUCTION
In teams of three, we were asked to design a mobile application that allowed users to navigate information in the completion of a specific task.
This was my first real exposure to mobile application design, and one of my first attempts at any sort of interface design. This project allowed us to explore the following design issues:
—opportunistic need for information in a mobile context
—display of information on a small screen
—mapping of information hierarchy to user intent and persona
Our team chose to develop an application that helped users find a musical event to attend.
PROCESS
collection of process documentation (click on image to see full size)
We started with user reserach, going out on campus to interview our target users—the young adult.
After figuring out what was most important to our target users in terms of music culture, concert-going, ticket-buying and lifestyle, we came up with a persona that represented our user. Designing for our persona, we came up with concept sketches, and cycled through concept validation and re-sketching until a suitable solution was found.
Throughout the concept validation sessions, we made a series of paper prototypes to highlight scenarios of use.
SOLUTION
Our solution catered to the design implications made from our user research. Our device is:
—a personalized music event finder that allows users to find concerts in their current location
—geared towards the young spontaneous adult; the type of person that is always out and about and wants something to do
—capable of allowing you to discover new music by compiling lists of similar artists and music genres based on your music profile
—an efficient and easy-to-use interface that learns your frequent input behaviours
To see a full scenario of use, feel free to download our final demonstration presentation (see link on right).