Skip to main content

Application Design I / Project 1

23.04.2025 - 16.05.2025 / Week 1- Week 5
GAN YI KIAN / 0374572
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Application Design I
Project 1 / Mobile Application Proposal




LECTURES

Week 1
Introduction to Mobile Application Design
Skilled design for the application is where great software starts. It discusses the appearance of the product, how users interact with it and key principles that define its development at any point.

Why Application Design Important?
  • Core user experience is key to success.
  • A well-designed app can improve overall user engagement and retention and increase overall customer satisfaction.
  • The designer should focus on clear navigation, flexible layouts, and a natural user experience.
  • Early investment in high-quality design can reduce development barriers and resource investment in the long run.
  • Thoughtful design can also improve the efficiency and user accessibility of the app, thereby expanding the target market.
Understanding Usability
Defining Usability
Usability is how easily users can achieve their goals with a product.

Applying Usability Principles
App design revolves around user needs, following the application of usability principles – the enhancement of the navigation, structure, and layout clarity.

Conducting Usability Testing
Using usability testing, we observe how users experience the app, discover problems, and improve the design with an eye to making it user-friendly and more entertaining to use.

Developing Practical Skills
It takes the combination of theoretical and practical experience to become an expert for app design, especially for tools, prototyping and research into users.

Importance of Mobile in the Digital Era
Ubiquity of Smartphones
These devices are an essential part of our daily lives as millions of people around the world rely on their smartphones to stay connected wherever they are.

Shift in User Behavior
Today, with at-home shopping and browsing on mobile devices, connection to the digital world has fundamentally changed.

Mobile-First Approach
In the wake of the expectations of the users, the businesses will embrace the mobile-first design, featuring a focus on offering great mobile experience.

Competitive Advantage 
A seamless mobile experience can be a competitive advantage for businesses because it improves customer satisfaction, loyalty, and online performance.

Challenges
Limited Screen Real Estate
Mobile devices have smaller screens compared to desktops, requiring designers to prioritize content and interactions to ensure a clean, uncluttered user interface.

Diverse Device Capabilities
Mobile applications must be designed to accommodate a wide range of device specifications, screen sizes, and input methods, ensuring a consistent user experience across different platforms.

Contextual Awareness
Designers must consider factors like location, connectivity, and user mobility when crafting the application's functionality and interface.

The User-Centered Design Approach
  • Focuses on deeply understanding the target users and their needs.
  • Process of research, ideation, prototyping, and testing to ensure the final product delivers a seamless and intuitive experience.
Applying User-Centered Design (UCD)
Research
  • Begins with in-depth user research, gathering insights into their needs, behaviors, and pain points.
  • Helps establish a solid understanding of the target audience and their specific requirements
Design
  • Start creating wireframes, prototypes, and mockups to address identified user needs.
  • The phase involves continuous refinement and feedback collection.
Evaluation
  • Usability testing and user feedback are crucial in the UCD process
  • Validate design decisions and identify areas for improvement.
  • Cycle of design, test, and refine ensures the final product meets user expectations.
Benefits of User-Centered Design
  • Increased User Satisfaction
  • Improved Product Adoption
  • Reduced Development Costs
  • Enhanced Brand Reputation 
Optimizing for Performance
  • Key strategies include minimizing app size, leveraging caching and lazy loading techniques, and optimizing network requests and data transmission.
  • Can reduce load times, conserve device battery, and ensure your app remains responsive even on older or lower-end devices.
Week 2
UCD, UI, UX, and Usability
User Centered Design (UCD)
UCD is the overall philosophy that considers the needs of the users. It provides framework and the foundation to to create a product that's both user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.

User Experience Design
User Experience design focuses on the functionality, like the layout, room sizes, and ease of moving around (user experience). UX design builds upon that foundation by ensuring a smooth and functional interaction.

User Interface Design
UI design brings vitality to the user experience through visual means such as color and texture.

Week 3
Usability: Designing Products for User Satisfaction
Usability
  • Usability is the quality of a product or design that enables users to use it effectively, efficiently, and achieve successful outcomes in the appropriate context.
  • Can be evaluated through testing methods
  • Concerned with user needs and context
  • Clarity and Learnability
Common Usability Pitfalls
  • Complex interfaces
  • Confusing navigation
  • Lack of Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
- Not making CTAs clear or putting them at the wrong place in the text can cause people to miss out on opportunities
  • Inadequate error handling 
Key Principle of Usability
  1. Consistency
  2. Simplicity 
  3. Visibility 
  4. Feedback 
  5. Error Prevention 
Consistency
  • Consistent = User-Friendly
  • Cohesive Experience 
  • Intuitive Navigation 
  • Familiarity and Learnability
  • Stronger Brand Identity
Simplicity
  • Effortless to Use
  • Crystal Clear Communication
  • Examples of Simplicity: Airbnb mobile apps
Visibility 
  • Clarity and Hierarchy
  • Focus and Attention
  • Examples of Visibility: State Changes,Call to Action (CTA) Design,Well-placed icons, menus, and clear labelling
Feedback 
  • Confirmation and Clarity
  • Guidance and Learning: Textual Messages, Visual Cues, Sounds, Haptic Feedback

Error Prevention 
  • Reduced Frustration
  • Increased Efficiency
  • Improved Accuracy
  • Examples of Prevention: Input Validation,  Clear Feedback,  Confirmation Steps


INSTRUCTIONS


Project 1 / Mobile Application Proposal
Week 1: Proposal
This week's assignment is to research various applications. Choose three company applications that we think could benefit from design improvements. Our goal is to identify all existing flaws and come up with potential solutions. (Can be any application)

Company Selection Criteria:
  1. Avoid well-known brands commonly used, such as GRAB, Starbucks, GSC, TGV, etc.
  2. Ensure the company has more than 100 reviews for their app on the Play Store.
  3. The app has more than 10 different pages.
Our task is to prepare a proposal that includes a comprehensive study of multiple mobile apps. Our goal is to select three company apps that can benefit from design improvements. The main goal is to analyze the current User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) of the selected apps, identify problem areas that need to be improved, and propose practical solutions. We will take screenshots from at least 10 pages of the app and put them on a slide, highlighting various aspects that need to be addressed. Each issue will be supported by a strong analysis, and in the end, practical suggestions will be provided to optimize the interface itself and the experience of using the app. After the task is completed, we will produce a summary report that presents our main findings and recommendations. We will provide the report in the second week in the form of a slide and get feedback.

I have currently selected 
  • Resorts World Genting
  • MY FamilyMart
  • Lalamove Driver – Drive & Earn.

I finally chose Resofts World Genting app as my last option for redesign. Why did I choose Genting? Because I often use this app, and I want to improve the user experience and modify the unreasonable parts.

Draft Final Mobile Application Proposal


After the presentation, Mr. Zeon gave me some suggestions.
  • Add description below the screenshot (App Current Design page)
  • Summarize the reviews
  • Show the solution after the weakness and the corresponding
  • More details on competitive analysis (Genting compares with the other 3)
  • Primary Goal's Hierarchy not mentioned before

No.1 App Current Design

Fig. 1.1 App Current Design (16/5/2025)

No.2 Ratings & Reviews

Fig. 1.2 Ratings & Reviews (16/5/2025)

No.3 Weakness and Solution
Describe the solution point by point and move it to the Weakness page.

Fig. 1.3 Weakness (16/5/2025)

Fig. 1.4 Solution (16/5/2025)

Fig. 1.5 Weakness (16/5/2025)

Fig. 1.6 Solution (16/5/2025)

No.4 Competitive analysis
A more in-depth comparison of the differences between the two, added to the next page of the original competitor introduction.

Fig. 1.7 Competitive analysis (16/5/2025)

Fig. 1.8 Competitive analysis (16/5/2025)

Fig. 1.9 Competitive analysis (16/5/2025)


No.5 Primary Goal's Hierarchy not mentioned before
The second one has been added to the weakness page.

Final Mobile Application Proposal
Final Mobile Application Proposal PDF





FEEDBACK

Week 1
General Feedback: Mr Zeon needs us to start Task 1 and present it to him next week. 

Week 2
Specific Feedback: Mr Zeon said my PPT was OK, but I just needed to finish the summary and suggestions.

Week 3
General Feedback: Show progress to check.

Week 4
General Feedback: Submit by Friday
Specific Feedback: 
  • Add description below the screenshot (App Current Design page)
  • Summarize the reviews
  • Show the solution after the weakness and the corresponding
  • More details on competitive analysis (Genting compares with the other 3)
  • Primary Goal's Hierarchy not mentioned before

REFLECTION


Experience
This was the first time I really redesigned the Resorts World Genting app in a practical way. It wasn’t easy, but it taught me some methods and ideas that I can use now. All in all, it was a very meaningful experience.

Observations
I noticed that many users were confused by overly complex parts of the app. For them, the most important thing was to have a basic and orderly experience. In addition, some people also paid attention to the use of fonts and colors, and the most important thing was the smoothness of the system.

Findings
  • Users consider smooth and convenient navigation to be essential.
  • Users consider simple designs easier to use, so designers must keep the interface simple.
  • Focus on user habits when designing, not just appearance.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Application Design I / Project 2

26.05.2025 - 14.07.2025   / Week 5- Week 13 GAN YI KIAN / 0374572 Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media Application Design I Project 2 / UI/UX Design Document INSTRUCTIONS Project 2 / UI/UX Design Document Week 5 In this assignment, we need to complete the creation of a research plan according to the template and list of questions, and interview 5 people with the goal of obtaining first-hand experience with users. We need to take notes of their pain points (problems) and highlights (things they love) when using the service or their competitors. My target audience is Gen Z - finish the 5 interviews transcript - take down the data, one idea per post-it -sort them in affinity maps - find categories/themes - create 3 personas from those themes I basically divided the interview questions into 5 sections.I interviewed my friends and they answered me in Chinese, and I translated them into English. Interview Log Section 1: Background Section 2: User experience Section 3: Fu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Advanced Typography / Task 1

24.09.2024 - 19.10.2024 / Week 1 - Week 4 GAN YI KIAN / 0374572 Advanced Typography / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media Task 1 / Exercises  LECTURES Week 1 Fig 1.1 Typographic System Examples  Typographic Systems "All design is based on a structural system" There are eight major variations with an infinite number of permutations. Axial Radial Dilational Random Grid Modular Transitional Bilateral Axial All elements are organized to the left or right of a single axis. Radial All elements are extended from a point of focus. Dilational All systems expand from a central point in a circular manner. Random Elements appear to have no specific pattern or relationship. Grid A system if vertical and horizontal divisions. Modular A series of non-objective elements are constructed as standardized elements. Transitional An informational system of layered banding. Bilateral All text is arranged symmetrically on a single axis. Week 2 Typographic Composition Emphasis  Fig. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Application Design I / Project 3

13.07.2025 - 19.07.2025   / Week 12- Week 14 GAN YI KIAN / 0374572 Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media Application Design I Project 3 / Lo-Fi App Design Prototype INSTRUCTIONS Project 3 / Lo-Fi App Design Prototype Week 11 After I completed the whole process of booking a hotel, I showed it to Mr. Sylvain.After I finished the whole process of booking the hotel, I showed it to Mr. Sylvain. Then we need to build the sketches on figma for each scene before the next week. Week 12 A good idea I came up with is to add a chat function. If today's target is a group of friends who want to book a hotel, they can all use this app and enter a group to chat, and at the same time they can share hotel information to this group. They can vote, compare hotels, and even plan the itinerary of the trip. More plans can be made in this group, and other members can also participate in the selection process. Then based on this idea, I designed the first sketch on figma. Mr. Sylvain sugges...
Post a Comment
Read more