Creative Iteration & Integration: 3-5 Iterations
Further Refinement on Initial Iterations
This week, further development was done on the style of the wearable. Explorations in round versus rectangular forms were found to be the most efficient in terms of providing the best usability for the users of the wearable.
Certain features were also worked on to develop specific features that will aid themselves to the users.
More explorations of the wearable form will need to be done to figure out what the best way is to wear the bag while still having access in an efficient way. Storing the equipment in a horizontal manner may not be the best design decision, therefore, explorations into other possible ways of accessing the internal items.
Physical Prototypes
Prototypes were created to figure out the internal organization of the wearable as well as how manufacturing of the it could be done. The internal organization of the wearable may be too bulky/wide for the amount of equipment is carrying. Iterations will be done to figure out which was is best while still optimizing usability.
Varying thicknesses of plastic paired with foam were tested to see which felt the most comfortable for users. These samples were put on the back to test out comfort, flexibility and mobility. Exploration of strap design and how that could lend functionality to the user was done. I discovered that providing variety for the user would garner the most efficient use cases.
More iterations will be necessary to further determine feasible design details. Preliminary exploration provided positive outcomes, however the ideas are not concrete. More mockups will need to be created to generate a more robust end product.
UI Iterations
Developing an overview or user flow for the app was necessary to determine what screens needed to be prioritized. To develop navigation methods, making a user flow helped to determine how menus would look/function, where certain items on the screen needed to be placed to make sense, etc.
A user journey map was developed to give a more up to date scenario of use for the product. This helped define what key interactions the user will have with the product at different steps along the process. It also helped outline moments of entry and exit from the core app activities.
Rough UI mockups were generated to work out details like aesthetics, flow, interactions, navigation, exit flows, and general visual and information hierarchy. Doing initial mockups of the UI helped determine what areas needed more attention (especially in relation to the specific points of interaction with the physical product). As this app won’t be completely end-to-end, certain screens will have more priority over others. This will be determined in the next couple weeks.
Learnings
By doing more iterations and prototypes, I was able to determine features that may need more refinement or complete reworking. More mockups will need to be produced to confirm or deny other features. For the UI component, more detailed mockups and developing a user flow helped determine what should be prioritized for the user and what may be developed in “future” versions. In the next week, more iterations will need to be done as well as additional testing to confirm several theories/hypotheses.
Next Steps
For next week, the iterations will continue to be more refined and detailed. Final details such as use case, manufacturing, functionality, design features, and materials will be determined. Also, preparation for the community feedback consultation will be done.
