It’s been a year since I registered for the interaction design specialization. It’s almost done now, save this post and a few other things. How it changed me from marketing generalist to a potential product designer is another story. I wouldn’t talk about that here. This space is exclusively meant for the very first mobile app I’ve designed, ‘mytrain’.
The Seed
The design brief in mind was ‘Time’ and how it could be redesigned to make life better. As a regular in the early morning train to work, my thoughts immediately drifted in that direction..alarms, train timings, morning rush and more. Many things could be better..not just for me but for the many people whose workday starts and ends with the same train.
The Need
Speaking to people and asking how they like their routine changed is one thing. Observing them and giving them suggestions is another. My need finding exercise was based equally on those observations as much as listening to the people interviewed.They were all regulars in ladies’ coach of the 6.45 am shuttle.
Three of the many expressions that frequent the lives of these passengers are : 1. ‘Where has that train reached now? 2. Is it running on time? 3. Oh No! My season ticket has expired. 4. Hey friend! “ Can you wake me up when the train reaches xyz please (in case I don’t wake up on tme for the station)?
In these questions, I’ve found the focus of my design, the needs that I address in the final prototype.
The app displays your selected trains’ status. It’s alarm works on the station the train is at and not time. Regular alarms wakes you up when the clock hits a certain time. This alarm wakes you when the train reaches a station you set. Reminders to the season ticket validity are highlighted and given prominence in the design.
Protoboards
While the paper prototypes were being made, I played with the idea of making a set of mockups that tracked my glance..a set of paper designs with a dot on each that represents where my eyes or focus would land at the first look. In short, it was like a mock version of an eye tracking study. The hashtags represent the thoughts that flicker by while viewing . I fondly named these protoboards..of course these imagined heat maps aren’t accurate and not based on any scientific method but even then, I intend to make protoboards for every app I design in the coming days. It gives a sense of perspective and a clearer idea of the thoughts that run in the user’s mind.
Choosing a prototyper
This was important as it is difficult to switch prototypers after the work had advanced. So I did the obvious.. Google reviews. That helped considerably and I was left with a choice of Axure, Invision, Marvel and JustinMind.
I would choose Marvel or Invision for some super quick prototyping but for the final design, it is justinmind for me, hands down. The vast scope of awesome interactions and the fact that you can design on it without having to import from Sketch are definite advantages.
The Morph
What amazes me is the scope of redesign in the process (like someone wise once said that every design is redesign).
What started out as something is now nowhere close to that. All areas of the initial paper prototype design was changed and at one point I wondered if I should have invested more time in the inspiration board before having made them. Then again I guess , iteration is meant to happen in design.
And in the user tests, one user seemed especially frustrated with the design and confessed that he found it long winded. Such an honest response isn’t something that leaves you the same. It called for an immediate redesign of the alarm page he was referring to. My point is, until and unless I see other people using the design, there will be areas whose pitfalls the maker will be blind to.
A Word on Material Design
Since I worked on android, it is no surprise that I was led to material design guidelines . The more I read about it, the more I liked it. It made plenty of things easy for me although at times, I was overwhelmed by all the details given :) I plan to work on it a lot more in the days to come, keeping in mind that it is a great tool that can help without really stifling creativity.
A Note of Thanks to Canva
It would be unfair if I don’t thank them now. It helped me throughout the course and am sure it will in the future. Thank you Guy Kawasaki and the amazing team at Canva.
Final thoughts
There is still scope of redesign in the application and it could be made a lot intuitive without compromising on the ease of use. I will have the design at the back of my mind and if I come across an inspiring new idea that could be adopted , I certainly would and iterate on what I have now. But for now it is time to thank Scott Klemmer for having designed a wonderful course . It has changed my life forever. Thanks to all the other instructors too for dropping by. And a huge thank you to my peers, the life and soul of the interaction design party.
