TO BE — To be inspired to be organized.
Our objective for our first project was to create a simple mini application to help our classmate solve a problem or meet a need they have in their life. We were tasked with conducting a one-on-one interview as research, building a persona and scenarios to create a better idea of who our target market would be. Then we would begin the grueling process of creating the hardcore ideas. We created an affinity flowchart to build our thought process, we created user sketches to build the app and finally a working prototypes to show our future users what it is that would change their life forever!
For every app there is a target consumer in mind. Our objective first was to find our target consumer with a simple Q&A. I created a set of questions to deliver to Allison, my classmate and interviewee, that would provide me with an overall understanding of the type of person she is, what she enjoys and also what she hopes for her future. I asked her open ended questions and prompted her when I wanted to know a bit more about what she was saying. I had recorded the questions and answers so I would be able to go back at any time and replay her responses for any golden nuggets I may have missed the first time. This I found was a very convenient methodology. Our Q&A session was fairly easy and we had a relaxed flow together. Her responses were very genuine and I feel that with her responses I was, in the end, able to create an app that would be quite helpful to her lifestyle.
I found most of my inspiration for creating her app in 4 questions I had asked her. Provided below are the questions and the summations of her responses.
Q: What are your interests?
A: I like to eat out a lot and explore new restaurants and cuisine. I’ve taken up mui thai. I do indoor climbing. I like biking around the city and I love going to galleries and learning about art history. I have a membership at the AGO and I write for Art Toronto a contemporary art site online. I prefer going to galleries on my own and taking in the art when it’s quiet. It me time to analyze the art in an intellectual way. Looking at the artist in an emotional and personal way.
Q: What type of lifestyle do you lead?
A: I’m the kind of person who has a hard time saying no. Taking on so many things so I’m always busy. I like being busy but maintaining balance with downtime. I feel I deserve to relax. My social calendar is always full. I take on the work hard play hard mentality.
Q: How do you use your phone?
A: Apps I use the most, google maps, NYT app, gmail, FB messenger, UBER, Viber, A lot of messaging apps to talk to my friend in California. Google drive and doc. Simple and practical stuff. No social media other than the basic messaging.
Q: If you could pick 3 things in your lifestyle to improve, what would they be?
A: Bed earlier so I can wake up earlier. Not a morning person at all. Just need to condition myself to do so. Allocate time for work. Good at procrastinating. Good at putting things off. Time management. Make time to work out. I do that usually with friends. But make sure I actually do it! I want to read more. Read more stuff. Read more fiction, I read a lot of news but I want to read more fiction. I’ve been reading about design.
From these responses I was able to draw a few insights and conclusions to devise a problem I was confident in solving. It was clear to me that Allison is a very busy individual. Everything from her love for eating out to her vast amount of activities and her inability to say “no” to her friends led me to believe that she has a constantly packed social calendar. This also means she has a great support system and people that she enjoys spending time with. At the same time though, this makes me wonder how often she’s able to do the nitty-gritty tasks like cleaning her room or as she mentioned in one of the other questions, organizing her computer’s hard drive. She has goals she’s made this year and inspirations which can help her achieve these goals as well. This was something that I personally related to. I am a goal setter and I find that when I am inspired to achieve my goals I am able to do it. I found that Allison was also especially inspired by art. She not only visits galleries but also writes for a website as well about the topic. This, I thought could help her really become inspired and focused. She absolutely demonstrates a work-hard, play-hard mentality and this is something I want to help her keep.
I tried to envision, as part of our storyboarding exercise, a scenario that would prompt Allison (or anyone else) to feel she needed help. The scenario plays out like this: Allison is working on a project early Sunday morning. It’s due the next day. She feels good about completing it this weekend and she feels like she has everything she needs to get it done. Then she receives a text message from her friend Julie who has just asked if she’d like to join her for lunch that day at this great new Restaurant. Allison being the food connoisseur she is, jumps at the opportunity and quickly responds “YES!” They have lunch and quickly get swept away by a pop-up art show. Allison arrives home late after a fun-filled, but anxiety-ridden afternoon with Julie. She now has to complete her assignment with far less time than she had hoped for. She falls asleep with still more work needing to be completed. I feel that this sort of scenario happens quite often to many people and would drive them to change their habit of action if the consequence was severe enough.
Once I was able to organize my thoughts and finding I was able to pinpoint Allison’s need. Her need I thought would fit the need of so many people in her similar situation. This app would help its user to prioritize their daily tasks, and set attainable goals. The app would provide them with inspirations and motivation personalized to their taste to keep on track and provide them with the necessary fuel to push forward. Essentially it would have the essence of a motivational calendar.
This app would be a huge help to users who, like Allison have very busy lives. A person who is always planning but rarely ever seeing their task being accomplished when they’d hope for it to be. A person who repeatedly makes lists, but only ever checks off one or two things because they found that something just came up and they couldn’t say no. This user strives to achieve their goals and works very hard when they are motivated properly. That is where this app will shine.
I began to plan out how I wanted this app to function. Allison personally is a no fuss person. She likes simplicity in design and in her apps she uses on a daily basis. I looked to my own apps that I use on my phone like notes, calendar, lists. Each had some functions that I liked and thought would work well to build this app. I began to make pen and paper notes with words, instead of drawing out my ideas. My notes began to tell the beginning story of a complex functioning app. I wanted its core features to be a calendar, motivation (provider), and daily inspiration. I thought that the app could be completely customizable due to the fact that every person finds inspiration from different sources and the app’s function is to provide inspiration. The customization would begin with the interface preferences (colours, fonts, background) and end with the motivation source. Mapping out the functionality and appearance of an app that I wanted to be customizable was a little difficult at first, but I began to plan it out in as logical a way as possible.
I merged the functions of a calendar, list, and motivational life coach together to create an app that I have called TO BE. TO BE motivated TO BE organized. In using this app the user is able to plan their life events, appointments, set goals and tasks while having personal reminders set as push notifications and emails to remind them of everything they have set for the future. The functionality of the app is designed to better its users time management skills and provide them with the necessary push and perk to allow them to feel proud and inspired at reaching their set goals. Everyone could always use a little nudge of encouragement or pat on the back (even a virtual one) when they’re doing well.
The calendar function of this app allows you to tie in your existing calendars (Google, FB, Twitter, etc) so all your events can be synced into one organized and concise calendar. From here you’ll have the ability to view your calendar on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Each day having the ability to add events or reminders for upcoming scheduled things. On each day, week, or month you have the ability to set goals. These goals can function as a virtual “TO DO LIST.” With each task you have the ability to set it as a degree of priority, and are able to “check it off” once that goal has been achieved. Push notifications for daily goals will be sent to your phone to appear on your home screen and can be set to your lock screen as well. This will keep your attention focused on your goals to help you organize and plan you time. When goals are not being focused upon, or being “check off” at certain points, words of encouragement and motivation will be sent as push notification to help you to put your priorities back into perspective. On a daily basis the user will receive a daily inspiration to provide them with a piece of creativity, fun fact, or just a general cheerful greeting to start their day on the “right foot”. This can be customized by the user at any time by searching the app’s pre-programmed bank of subjects.
This app will allow the user to personalize their UI and motivations to best fuel them and inspire them with something that truly fills their heart with joy and passion. I feel that to best help this user they must feel inspired by what best relates to their life. The customary features are designed to provide the user with motivation at key points during the day (or specific set increments). To feel inspired by what drives you is such a key factor in this app not only to keep the user engaged but to help them to feel like they are accomplishing their goals, and being fulfilled, while also moving forward at a steady momentum.
My next steps were to plan out how the user would begin to use the app. How exactly would they go about starting the process? What would the steps to creating a completely customized experience be? I personally had never used an app like that so I had nothing to compare it to. So I thought about it logically. This is where I began to build my rough flow charts. They all were quite messy and my legend began to get quite muddled and it wasn’t until I started to build it in Sketch when it all started to fall into place quite nicely. Certain aspects of the app were cut because I simply thought that when given too much choice, you begin to waste time. So the “search google for inspiration” function was cut, as well as the “randomized” inspiration topic. I decided that a bank of topics would suffice instead. Simplicity and function won over and keeping the app customizable in its UI and key inspirations were most important. Keeping the functionality simple would make the user happy and most organized.
Building the app as a working prototype was fun and a little challenging. Thinking about how the app would work, how the user would click and the overall experience of the app was something I hadn’t quite given thought to before. I had only ever thought of my own emotional response to an app. The thought of how a user would physically interact with an app was a different way of thinking for me. But in essence I wanted to keep my app as minimal as possible because it’s interface was so customized. I kept the tactile functions as basic as possible; just simply swipe or tap to change and view the next screen.
See the link below for the working prototype of TO BE.
I think the simplicity of the app’s function will work nicely and will be of help to the user. I feel that with the appropriate customization the user will be able to maximize the usage of the app and be able to get the appropriate inspiration and motivation they need to help them manage their time. In my own personal life I am able to get my own inspiration and motivation from my chosen agenda (It’s cute, has fun typography, and a beautiful cover. All of which I chose to my own taste and enjoy using it because of its aesthetic!) and monthly motivational calendar that hangs in my bedroom. I personally prefer the old fashion pen and paper way of writing out my tasks and keeping a written copy of my schedule. Writing is something that helps me to recall what I have to do. I feel that an app like this though will help the user not only to recall their tasks but it will also provide them with reminders if they do forget. Something which I do wish could be added to the “old fashioned” way as well.
Some aspects that I feel could probably use some additional tweaking would be the amount of customization. I’m not entirely sure how that would all work and if it’s entirely possible. I didn’t do all the necessary research with regards to that like I should have. I think in essence it was a good idea and it fit the need well. Another aspect of the customization that may potentially be troublesome is the selection process. It is only three steps but, each step involves some thought and with that time as well that they could be using more wisely on something more detrimental. I feel that if they are someone who is a little more picky with their motivation, they can easily become distracted or caught up in the process of their selection and choose to change very often, thus not finding their inspiration helpful any longer. I really like how I thought of adding motivational push notifications to get the tasks done. I feel that will add an additional push to their accountability and help them to stay focussed on completing their tasks. Ultimately, I do feel that this app, if used appropriately will help its user to plan their time more efficiently and stay motivated and inspired to be more organized.
I set out to create an app that would fit the need of my classmate Allison. I discovered her need by conducting a thorough interview that allowed me to pinpoint her strengths and places which she could improve upon. I reflected upon her needs and discovered the best way to help her succeed was to create an app that would maximize her time and stay focussed and organized. I wanted her TO BE inspired TO BE organized. I felt that customizing and creating a calendar app that would be inspirational, functional, and encouraging would go a long way to helping her attain her goals. There are still some kinks and potential flaws to my design, but I do truly feel that this app would be a great success in helping this target market become inspired to be more organized.
