1. PROJECT - Calculator App
DESCRIPTION
The focus of Project 1 was to design a Calculator App for smartphones through brainstorming, research, development, and usability testing. There are plenty of different apps that are involved with calculations. I wanted to design a language app through which users can calculate their knowledge and progress in a preferred language they chose to study. The app is called "Languastic". As an immigrant in a foreign country, I know how frustrating it can be not to understand what it´s been said. It´s not only about memorizing the words but also understanding the pronunciation, speaking with natives, and testing your knowledge. The app will be designed for Android
RESEARCH AND IDEAS
I chose to create a language app. Learning a new language it´s hard enough, so I wanted to create an app that it´s easy to navigate. The difference between other apps will be the possibility of speaking with the natives once you find the same interest. Users will have a chance to check their pronunciation and get results to know how correct they were. Learning a language can be challenging and inconvenient if we don´t have a plan to study it. The app will provide users with the goal settings and progress measurements.
Here are examples of language apps I´ve been using
TARGET AUDIENCE
LUKAS works as a salesperson for IKEA, one of the biggest Swedish companies. He´s been recently promoted to a manager position, where he gets a chance to travel to Germany, France, and Spain for headquarter meeting. He would like to learn the basics of these three languages to talk to his colleagues in their native language.
YEON is from China. She recently finished high school and want´s to travel around the world before she starts college. She loves languages and new cultures but needs language support. Furthermore, she would love to increase her English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish skills.
NARA is from Germany. She is a recent graduate who is planning to move to Denmark to study for her master's. 25% of her classes will be in Danish, but she doesn't speak much. She is searching for a language app to help her learn Danish as fast as possible.
MARTIN AND LANA are from Poland. They've been married for five years, and Martin, a business consultant, and Lana, a Math teacher, have two kids. Because of Martin´s job, they had to move to the United Kingdom. His English skills are advanced, but he is still unsure about his pronunciation, and her English skills are fundamental. Kids also don´t speak any English. They are searching for an app that could help the whole family learn English and be able to deal with everyday situations in the English language.
Lukas (Photo 1), Yeon (Photo 2), Nara (Photo 3), Martin and Lana (Photo 4)
SCENARIOS
1. When you try to say “das habe du gut gemacht”, in German, you get the feeling you're saying wrong. Us the app to analyze your verbalization, to see how close it is to being correct.
2. You´de like to test out your Danish. Use the App to find a native with the same interests, and have a conversation.
3. You are moving to Spain in 3 months, you'd like to get a head start with the language. Use the app to create a study time, days and goals.
SKETCHES
I used these sketches to put some of my ideas on the paper. I tried to use as few buttons and steps as possible, not to make it too complicated. I´ve tried sketching further progress that could lead me to the chosen scenarios. I used the graph to show the progress of the Danish language. Before seeing the progress, we need to select a topic we want to learn through the app. I also wanted to add a notification for users to be reminded daily to study. I also used some examples of the topics (animals, introduction, numbers).
USABILITY TEST 1
Mira, 38, Marketing Manager
Profile button
Homepage button
Making it efficient and easy to navigate
USABILITY TEST 2
Sophia, 28, Nurse
Making it more professional (but still simple)
Adding more buttons to the bottom (homepage, progress)
Adding profile picture
Adding more buttons to the bottom (homepage, progress)
Adding profile picture
REVISION
According to the user testers, the main problem was that some icons were missing, and the page was supposed to be more professional and easy to navigate.
TESTING 1
Olaf, 50, call agent
Adding different icons
Adding profile pictures on different pages, not only a couple
Adding profile pictures on different pages, not only a couple
TESTING 2
Sabine, 54, call agent
Different icons (simple for users to understand)
Simplifying app so users can understand easier where to go and what is expected from them
Simplifying app so users can understand easier where to go and what is expected from them
DIGITAL DESIGN
After user testing, I've added different icons to the bottom, colors, and more profile pictures. I´ve tried to create it simple for users to navigate around the app.
PROTOTYPE
I´ve started from the first page, logged in information, and moved to the three scenarios I have. The last data is the app progress and how much the user uses the app.
FINAL DESIGN
CONCLUSION
Creating this app was complicated in the beginning because I wasn´t sure what kind of app would interest users and what type of content they would find helpful. As time passed, and after a couple of reviews and feedback, I came up with the three main scenarios that I wanted my app to be different from any other language app. The first one would be to have the possibility of knowing if they are pronouncing words right. The second difference was the possibility of speaking with a native that has the same interest. The third feature is to make goals and see the progress. Even though it was a lot of work, I enjoyed creating something new and original for other people to use it.
