Final video and end of project

This last week has been almost exclusively focused around the short video we were supposed to do to sort of showcase our app. As our app is a storytelling one, we decided to go for a more cinematic, trailer-like video instead of just showing the app design and we're quite pleased with how it turned out. 

We received some criticism about the video not showing enough of the app, or the functionality that we describe in the last part of the video. We agree that we could have added a couple of quick clips of how the app actually works in that part, but at the same time it would have ruined the feeling of the video a bit; something that would have been a shame considering the effort we made to create the dramatic, cinematic feeling that we think it has.

All in all, we're happy about our project and we've received a lot of great feedback on our app. It's been great fun and we're really glad that most people we have showed the app or explained the concept to felt like it was something they could see themselves use for real!

/LinKalEri

(Watch it in fullscreen and in 1080p!)

Illustrating for Balsamiq

We also used another mockup application, Balsamiq Mockups. It's rather fast and easy to get a quick sketch up and running, but we thought that it was rather limiting in what you could do. No animations or "real" interactivity is really supported, and the different elements you can use is limited. Therefore, we decided to make another set of mockup screens in Illustrator, and then use Balsamiq to create the interactivity (read links) of the prototype.

People seemed to like the design for the most part, although some commented that they would like to be able to see comments in the text.

/E.K.L.

Prototyping in InVision

Another prototyping tool we used was InVision. It uses the traditional setup of static screens linked together by certain actions, but in contrast to tools like Fluid UI, InVision has no screen designing function. It relies on you making your own screens, which means that it allows for more hi-fi prototypes at the cost of a steeper learning curve.

We used InVision to create a graphically more advanced prototype. We created the screens in Illustrator and exported them to InVision as PNG images. Below are some of the screens:

/L.K.E.

Week 3 - Trying out tools

Hello!

Last week we worked on the app separately, each one trying out a different prototyping tool and making our own version of the app.

The version below was made in FluidUI. It focused mostly on the social aspect of the app in the form of a commenting function. Fluid was very easy and fast to work with but design options were a bit restricted since you could only use the standard parts and not upload any of your own pictures. However, this made it easier in the sense of one not having to design everything from scratch. A downside with Fluid, though, is that you can only have ten slides per project and maximum two projects in the free version.

When showing this prototype to people, there were mostly positive feedback. People appreciated the fact that you could turn the commenting function on and off. Apart from that, they didn't have much else to say about the prototype.

/K.L.E.

Week 2 - Prototyping

Hi!

This week has been all about prototyping. We started out on paper and then moved on to digital tools.

When we were satisfied with our paper prototypes, we tried to replicate the design in Fluid UI, a basic online prototyping tool. We were only at it for an hour, so this is all we got:

Right now, we've split up and are trying out different prototyping tools. Things are going well. We're having fun. We're excited to see what people think of our work.

/K.E.L.

Summary of week 1

Hello again!
We are now preparing for our first critique session (technically the second), where we will present the work we have done so far. To summarize, we want to make a survival guide for apocalyptic scenarios. I the app, we want to combine educational aspects with more entertaining gaming parts. The idea is that the user can execute challenges to test their survival skills, as well as read up on tips and tricks to get better. Our target group consists of people who are interested in learning about survival methods in the post-apocalyptic theme and people who more generally like to challenge themselves. After gathering feedback on some sketches we did, we have recieved some further ideas we would like to continue developing. For example, to focus more on storytelling and less on gameplay and separate challenges.

Something we have been struggling with is the balance between education and entertainment. We want users to learn practical things, but an app just filled with information could easily get boring. That's why we want to have some sort of gamification, we are just not sure how exactly to implement it yet. For the coming week, we will develop our idea further and at the same time start the prototyping of our application.

Länk

/E.L.K.

Take off!

Hello!

We are three students at KTH in Stockholm who are working on a project in the course DH2628 Interaction Design Methods. The project is based on ideas developed by students in the grades 7 to 9 who participated in a competition called Appjakten.

After browsing through many interesting ideas we decided to take inspiration from one called "App-okalypsen". The original idea is an application where the user can read and discuss about different conspiracy theories. We've taken that idea, but decided to focus solely on apocalypse teories and scenarios. We haven't decided yet where to take it exactly, but we are leaning toward an app that can help the user prepare for a future apocalyptic scenario.

To be continued!

/L.E.K.