‘On A Lark’
‘On A Lark’ is a location based food establishment and social discovery application. Based on your location and preferences (i.e. meal, dietary restrictions, and travel distance), ‘On A Lark’ will quickly match you with a business that meets your requirements. Users can try new eateries on a whim without worrying about diet or restrictions.
Usage
To use ‘On A Lark’, all you need to do is take a brief, three question survey. After picking the meal you want, your dietary restrictions (if any) and how far you would like to travel, you will be matched with restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Using data from Yelp.com, the app will pull the highest rated businesses that meet your requirements. From there, you can view the business on Yelp to check-in or view the menu, reviews, hours, etc. You are also able to get directions right from the app. It will connect to you phones native GPS so you can find your way there without a hassle.
This app can be used while traveling as well. Finding a good place to eat with high ratings is hard when you are new in town. My app uses geo location to find where you are and will match you with a restaurant based on how far you are willing to travel. It will grab the radius around your location and find a place best suited for you.
Why?
Rather then having to sift through Google and Yelp, my simple interface will do all the work and searching for you. If you are matched with a business you do not care for, you are able to have to app pick another place. It will keep filtering through restaurants until you find one that works for you.
Inspiration
I was inspired to make this app after going out one night with my friends. I am a vegetarian and it is always hard to quickly find places to eat with healthy, inexpensive options. Not every vegetarian wants to just eat french fries from McDonalds while your friends are eating burgers. Healthy was my goal. There are so many people who have this issue because of their dietary restrictions, whether you are vegan, vegetarian or gluten free. I wanted to create something that could benefit people with similar restrictions, but also make it useful for anyone who just wants to grab a bite!
Design
I am very interested in User Experience and Interface design. I wanted to create an app that anyone can use, regardless of your tech experience or age. My straight forward flow and ‘easy on the eyes’ visuals make this app simple and stress free.
Tools
I have never been a programmer or mobile developer, but after coming up with the idea, I wanted it to come to life. I wanted to see myself using this app every day. To develop the app, I used Cordova and Ionic, which is a hybrid mobile app framework that uses HTML5. It uses HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Angular. X-Code was also used to debug and simulate.
During the prototyping stage I used the program Sketch to wireframe. After creating the flow and designing the interface, I brought it into InVision. Not only did this create a seamless prototype for testing, it allowed me to connect with and receive input from colleges and friends.
You can try the original prototype out here:
“What is done in love is done well.” — Vincent Van Gogh
This experience has been so rewarding for me. Being able to make my designs and ideas come to life is why I chose to become an interactive designer. This app is definitely a project I am proud of to date. I hope to make this app available for anyone to use and benefit from in the future.
