Week 4 – Franky Wang

User insights for the digital prototype on Feb 15th

1 – In the post page of dish categories, there is no need to separate posts into two parts of “all” and “following”. Because in the 3rd level page, users do not tend to figure out the differences according to their specific interests on uploaders. In this case, it is reasonable to list all the posts.

2 – Detail problems:

(A) The back button and edit button in the post preview page are repetitive, so I deleted the back button.

(B) The restaurant page will be more helpful if includes more information, like opening time, reservation status, etc.

 

 

 

 

3 – If possible, try to figure out more intelligent functions like employing automatic recommendations (according to previous searches), photo recognizing (for filling out information automatically) using AI or big data technology.

#Thursdayapp 01 – Franky Wang

Moment

“Moment” is an invisible app that helps users to stay conscious of how much time they spend on their phones.

By giving its permission on detecting actions, positions and sending notifications, the APP automatically tracks the time user operates the phone. If users spend too much time on their phones, they can set daily limits on themselves and be notified when they go over. That becomes a good way to force themselves off the device when they are over their limits.

There are 3 main features of the APP. A big in-your-face number shows how much time you’ve spent on your phone today in terms of hours and minutes. This is what mainly gets measured and shows your focus. And the record part is differentiated by colors, which gives a rough impression on the level of using phones. Also, the Moment can collect data from other APPs, showing the time the user spent on different APPs, which gives them a clear awareness of them.

“moment app”的图片搜索结果     

 

Instead of judging user behaviors, the APP just simply shows the “truth”, that is, the exact how much time users are spending on their phones. Most people would be shocked by the statistic and records because they truly underestimated their time wasted on phones.

In this case, the APP “Moment” gives users a chance to rethink their relations with their mobile devices. It has a two-week course to fix the habits called “Phone Bootcamp”, and reform the way of using phones. Also, it has a function called “Daily Limits” which can be set as a hard limit. For users failed to hit the limit, they would be booted off.

Week 3 – Franky Wang

Learnings from paper prototyping

1 – The application should consistently keep focusing on its ease of use, which means minimizing its side functions other than the main feature. From 1.0 to 2.0 prototype, taking advice from user feedback, I cut off some complex steps of photo editing (which can be generated from other APPs) and corrected imprecise descriptions for the better understanding of terms in the APP.

2 – Every button/icon should clearly show its affordance. Some details like terms of “save” and “like” would somehow lead to different subsequences. When it comes to icons, the non-verbal indications from the figure need second consideration.

3 – When a specific function is set up, it takes time to reconsider the form of inputting/outputting information. For example, in the post filter page of the APP, there’s a slide bar managing the distance range of the restaurant. But it might not be user-friendly on a mobile display, because of the limited touching area. According to the user insights, it may become better if the form is changed into tapping selections or typing numbers.

Interactive prototype

Week 2 – Franky Wang

User insights from paper prototyping on Feb 1st

1 – The order of functions after logging in the APP

The APP is originally designed to immediately enter the page of capturing dish photo after logging in. Some users think it’s kind of inconsiderable for a dish recommendation APP to start camera function at the very beginning (Usually filter application does). It might be more reasonable to enter the “Expo” page, where dish photos are displayed when users first enter the APP. Then they could decide whether touching the camera button to upload photos, or just having a random glance.

 

Currently, the camera is designed as the index page, which might be better if replaced by the photo display page.

 

 

 

2 – Imprecision of categorizing in filter descriptions

In the filter page where users select choices to screen out their favorite kinds of dishes, the users gave feedback that the descriptions are not precise, which causes misunderstanding.

For example, the description “categories” is easily interpreted as terms like “breakfast”, “dessert”, “drink”… On the other hand, if the dish is categorized by cultures and countries, it would be better to use the word “Nationality”. And the description of calories is also not reasonable to simply use the term “high” or “low” without the specific number of the range. These are detailed problems but still worth considering.

 

 

3 – The unreasonable settings of “All Posts”


In the “Expo” page (currently defined as the index page), I created a segmented bar and separated the posts into the “all” tab, which includes all the current users’ photo upload, and the “friends” tab, which only shows the photos of connected users. However, there would be a huge amount of information refresh for displaying posts from millions of online users, which would definitely cause a mass flow and challenge the capability of the backend system. Also, users do not tend to see the photos which have little connections to them.

It might be better if the first tab is displayed based on location, showing the users the photos from nearby restaurants. The location-based recommendation could be more practical and build up the solid connections between users and information in this case.

Wireframe 2.0

APP Map 2.0

Week 1 – Franky Wang

Franky Wang


My name is Franky Wang, I started my career as a designer in Beijing, China. During my past several years of study, I have been trying to break myself from traditional culture atmosphere through the trend of modern art and design.

I have a strong awareness of designer’s social responsibility, especially when they are playing a role to lead a better life for people. In this case, I managed to create works for the public which could be both educational, and creative.

APP map assignment

I created a food APP called DishExpo, in which users can take photos of their favorite dishes from restaurants, post it and recommend it to other users. By editing the simple information of the dish and the restaurant, every user becomes a dish referral. Because of people’s appreciation for elegant looks of nice dishes, the APP in return gives users a direct choice purely according to the photos of dishes.

Wireframe

3 things I didn’t know from the Apple HIG or the Material Design Guidelines

1 – Three Navigation Styles

+++Hierarchical Navigation

One choice per screen until reaching a destination. (Setting and Mail)

+++Flat Navigation

Switch between multiple content categories. (Music and App store)

+++Content-Driven or Experience-Driven Navigation

Move freely through content. (Immersive apps like games)

2 – Branding and iOS APP design

Make the app feel like an iOS app. Ensure that it’s intuitive, easy to navigate, easy to use, and focuses on content. Avoid displaying a logo throughout the app unless its necessary for providing context. This is especially important in navigation bars, where a title is more helpful.

3 – Resting Elevation of Material Design

All material objects, regardless of size, have a resting elevation, or default elevation that does not change.

How you determine the elevation of objects – their position in z-space – depends on the content hierarchy you want to express and whether an object needs to move independently of other objects.