Application Design I - Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal
25.9.25 - 15.10.25 (Week 1-4)
PAN RUINING (0378138)
APPLICATION DESIGN / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal
CONTENT LIST
INSTRUCTION
LECTURES
WEEK 1: Introduction to Mobile Application Design
Why Application Design is Important:
- Ensures seamless and satisfying user experience
- Boosts engagement and retention
- Improves performance and accessibility
- Helps apps stand out with intuitive, responsive design
- Reduces development issues and supports long-term success
Understanding Usability:
- Defining Usability: Usability depends on the effectively snd efficiency.
- Applying Usability Principles: applying basic knowledge of gestures that everyone knows.
- Conducting Usability Testing: Usability testing verifies designs through observation and feedback, helping to optimize the user experience.
- Developing Practical Skills: Master theoretical knowledge and practical experience in applied design.
Importance of Mobile in the Digital Era：
- Ubiquity of Smartphones
- Shift in User Behavior
- Mobile-First Approach
- Competitive Advantage
Mobile design challenges:
- Limited Screen Real Estate
- Diverse Device Capabilities
- Contextual Awareness
The UCD process:
1. Research: The UCD process gathers information on needs
and behaviors through user research to understand the target
audience and their needs.
2. Design: After gaining user insights, designers iterate
on the design through wireframes, prototypes, and mockups,
continuously improving and collecting feedback.
3. Evaluation: Usability testing and user feedback
validate the design and identify areas for improvement during
UCD, ensuring the product meets user expectations.
Benefits of User-Centered Design:
- Increased User Satisfaction
- Improved Product Adoption
- Reduced Development Costs
- Enhanced Brand Reputation
Prototyping and Testing:
- Lo-Fi Prototypes: Use low-fidelity prototypes to quickly validate designs and gather early feedback.
- Interactive Prototypes: Simulate complete experiences with high-fidelity interactive prototypes for in-depth user testing.
- Iterative Testing: Uncover problems through ongoing real-user testing
WEEK 2: The Art of User Centered Design
User Centered Design (UCD)
A design philosophy that prioritizes users throughout the
development process, focusing on understanding their needs and
applying those insights at every stage, from conception to final
product.
UCD Process:
- Discover/Analyze: Analyze business needs and user personas.
- Define: Develop creative ideas and create user journey maps and user scenarios.
- Design: Develop the user experience, including wireframes and prototypes.
- Validate: Conduct usability testing and prototype validation.
- Develop: Develop production code.
User Experience (UX) Design:
- Focuses on the overall user experience.
- Based on research and usability.
- Primarily creates user personas, sitemaps, and wireframes.
The Foundations of User Experience:
- Utility: The product must meet user needs and effectively serve them.
- Usability: The product must be easy to use, allowing users to easily navigate and use it, embodying the characteristic of "ease of use."
- Desirability: The product's visual and design should create a sense of joy for users.
- Brand Experience: A positive brand impression, ensuring users have a positive impression of the brand.
User Interface (UI) Design:
- Focuses on the visual look and feel of the product.
- Deals with color, layout, typography, icons, and visual hierarchy.
- Enhances the UX through appealing aesthetics and clear interaction design.
- UI is like the interior design of a house—making the experience beautiful and intuitive.
Empathy: The ability to step into someone else's shoes and
understand their experience from their perspective.
- EXERCISE 1: Further optimize air tickets
What is Usability:
- Measures effectiveness, efficiency, and user success in completing tasks.
- Focuses on how easily users learn and how few errors they make.
- Must adapt to user needs and context.
- Evaluated through usability testing to identify improvements.
Common Usability Pitfalls:
- Complex interfaces: Too many features, poor organization, unclear labels.
- Unclear CTAs: Users miss actions due to poor placement or wording.
- Confusing navigation: Inconsistent layouts or missing search.
- Poor error handling: Vague messages and no recovery guidance.
TASK 1: MOBILE APPLICATION PROPOSAL
You start building your research slides.
Try to go light on the text, better if you write it yourself.
Use screen captures to explain what you mean.
Software/template/style is up to you, as long as it can export to PDF
1. YOUR SELECTED COMPANY APP
- Download & analyze your selected company app
- What's your gut feeling? What would you like to add? What can be
improved?
- Give 3 great points on the app
- Give 3 areas for improvement
- What do the users say in the reviews? What's useful for your project
there?
2. MARKET STUDY
Find 3 competitors APPS
- What do they do better than your selected company?
- What are the features you could bring in your project?
3. LEFT FIELD
- Find unrelated apps to your project or market with great features
you could bring in your project
Getting started: Selection and Analysis of App
For this project, I chose the app CHAGEE because I really like milk
tea, and this brand has always been my favorite both in China and
abroad. It also has a strong background in Chinese tea culture, and I
hope to make it more international while promoting the beauty of Chinese
tea culture.
Fig 1.1 CHAGEE App
After choosing the app, I started my analysis by writing a brief introduction, defining the problem statement, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, summarizing user feedback, assessing its usability, and reflecting on my gut feeling about features that could be improved or redesigned.
Fig 1.2 A slide on analysing the CHAGEE
Doing market study
For the market study, I researched three competing apps. I conducted an
in-depth analysis of HEYTEA, STARBUCKS, and Purple Cane. These apps have
certain functional features that are worth learning from and could serve
as inspiration for the app I selected.
Fig 1.3 Market study apps
Left Field Apps
I chose Tinder for this part to analyze and draw inspiration from some
of its features that are unrelated to CHAGEE.
Fig 1.4 Analysis of the unrelated app
Final Proposal Slide
FEEDBACK
WEEK 1: In the first week of class, Mr. Sylvain asked us to
choose an app to analyze. I chose the CHAGEE app, and sir told me that
my idea was ok.
WEEK 2: In the second week, I showed Sir my brief ideas, and he
said they were fine. However, he suggested that for the competitive
analysis section, I shouldn’t limit my choices to milk tea or coffee
apps, but also look into apps that introduce cultural backgrounds.
WEEK 3: Mr. Sylvain reviewed my proposal and found my idea
interesting, but he mentioned that it contained too much text and
suggested adding more keywords instead.
WEEK 4: No courses
REFLECTION
Experience:
Over these four weeks, I went from feeling confused about choosing an
app to analyze to developing ideas and creating a proposal on how to
improve it. Although I faced many doubts along the way, the lectures
taught me a lot about UI/UX, and the one-on-one guidance from the
teacher before class ended each week helped me make significant progress
in this area.
Observations:
I observed that creating the proposal slides is actually a form of UI
and UX practice as well. It needs to be concise yet informative, not
just a pile of text, but designed in a way that allows others to easily
grasp the main points. It is important to combine visuals and text
effectively.
Findings:
I found that each app has its own advantages and disadvantages. It’s
important to learn from their strengths while prioritizing the usability
of the app and considering the needs of the users.
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