Application Design / Project 1 : Mobile Application Proposal
23/4/2025 - 14/5/2025 (Week1-Week4)
Amber Tan Jing Jing (0372746)
DST60504 / Application Design I / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Project 1 / Mobile Application Proposal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Lectures
2. Instructions
2. Project 1 (Mobile Application Proposal)
3. Feedback
4. Reflection
LECTURES
Week 1 / Introduction to Mobile Application Design:
- This week, Mr. Zeon briefed us about the module information booklet, showed us some examples of other students' e-portfolios for reference, and explained what we need to do for the next 14 weeks.
- Then, he started to introduce the basics of mobile app design. I learned that mobile app design is not just about making things pretty. It’s about helping users do things easily and happily.
Introduction to Mobile Application Design - Key Notes
Why Application Design is Important
- Improves user experience, engagement, and satisfaction
- Enhances performance and accessibility
- Saves time and resources by reducing issues
Laying the Foundation: Understanding Usability
- Usability measures how easily users achieve goals
- Apply usability principles: navigation, hierarchy, info architecture
- Test usability with real users and improve
- Combine theory and hands-on skills
Importance of Mobile in the Digital Era
- Over 6 billion smartphone users
- Shift to mobile for browsing, shopping, entertainment
- Mobile-first strategies dominate
- Better mobile design means competitive edge
Designing for Mobile: Unique Challenges
- Small screen space, prioritize content
- Diverse devices and input methods
- Consider user context (location, connectivity)
The User-Centered Design Approach
- Focus on understanding user needs
- Iterative process: research → design → test → refine
Applying User-Centered Design (UCD)
- Research user needs and pain points
- Design wireframes and prototypes
- Test and gather feedback
- Improve continuously
Benefits of User-Centered Design
- Higher user satisfaction and loyalty
- Faster adoption
- Lower development costs
- Stronger brand reputation
Putting it All Together
- Understand users deeply
- Prioritize essential features
- Optimize for mobile devices
- Validate and iterate with feedback
Prototyping and Testing
- Start with low-fidelity prototypes
- Move to interactive prototypes
- Test repeatedly with users
Designing for Small Screens
- Compact, clean layouts
- Easy, natural navigation (tap, swipe)
- Touch-friendly interactions
- Clear visual hierarchy
Gestures and Interactions
- Tap, swipe, pinch, drag – natural mobile gestures
Optimizing for Performance
- Reduce app size
- Use caching and lazy loading
- Optimize network requests
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
- Deliver a seamless, cohesive user experience
- Continuously improve with user feedback
- Stay updated with mobile trends and innovations
Week 2 / The Art of User-Centered Design
- This week, Mr Zeon introduced us to the concept of User-Centered Design (UCD). He explained how important it is to focus on the needs and feelings of users throughout the entire design process. We learned about the differences between UX and UI design. UX is about making sure the product works well and is easy to use, while UI focuses on the look and feel of the product. We also learned about the steps involved in designing an app, from research to development and emphasized the value of testing and improving based on user feedback.
User - Centered Design (UCD) and UX/UI - Key Notes
User-Centered Design
- Focus on users’ needs throughout the whole product development cycle.
UX Design (User Experience)
- Focus on how the product works and how easy and smooth it is to use.
UI Design (User Interface)
- Focus on the visual look and feel, making the experience attractive.
Design Process
- Discover - Understand business needs, users, and competitors
- Define - Brainstorm ideas and map user journeys
- Design - Create user flows, wireframes, and prototypes
- Validate - Test usability and verify prototypes
- Develop - Production coding
- UCD increases user satisfaction, trust, and visibility while reducing errors, costs, and redesign efforts. It results in better performance and higher returns.
Empathy in Design
- Designers should understand the user’s perspective and feelings.
The Fundamental of Great User Experience
- Utility: meets user needs
- Usability: easy to use
- Desirability: enjoyable and attractive design
Week 3 / Usability
- This week, Mr Zeon introduced the concept of usability in app design. We learned how usability affects user satisfaction, and how good design helps users complete tasks more easily and with fewer errors.
Usability - Key Notes
What is Usability?
- How easy and effective a product is for users to complete tasks.
- Focuses on effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
Common Usability Issues
- Complex interfaces
- Confusing navigation
- Lack of Clear Calls to Action
- Inadequate error handling
5 Key Principles of Usability
1. Consistency
- Keep colors, fonts, layout uniform
- Helps users feel familiar
2. Simplicity- Use clear language and icons
- Fewer steps = better experience
3. Visibility- Show important elements clearly
- Make buttons and functions easy to find
4. Feedback- Show results of actions
- Use messages, animations or colors
5. Error Prevention- Check inputs, warn users before mistakes
- Give clear, helpful error messages
- Use clear language and icons
- Fewer steps = better experience
- Show important elements clearly
- Make buttons and functions easy to find
- Show results of actions
- Use messages, animations or colors
- Check inputs, warn users before mistakes
- Give clear, helpful error messages
Week 4 / Presentation
- Presentation
INSTRUCTIONS
PROJECT 1 (Mobile Application Proposal)
Requirements:
Create a proposal documentation for our mobile application project. We are required to redesign an existing app that you find unsatisfactory in terms of the user experience or interface design.
Students need to do surveys, interviews, market studies and research on the selected topic.
The document should also include key features of their mobile application and provide clear flowchart of the app.
The document will determine whether the mobile application idea is good to continue to the next development phase.
Avoid well-known brands you commonly use, such as GRAB, Starbucks, GSC, TGV, etc.
Ensure the company has more than 100 reviews for their app on the Play Store.
The app has more than 10 different pages.
I face a problem, which is that I cannot find the demographic data of the MyNEWS app on Similarweb.
After the presentation, Mr Zeon suggested that I search for third party research to find the demographic information or look for a similar website like Similarweb.
However, I could not find any MyNEWS app information from third-party research, such as Google Scholar (Figure 3.1). So I tried to find similar websites like Similarweb, but I also could not find any that are free to use. The only one I found was Semrush, but it need to pay. I have tried both methods, but unfortunately, there was no specific demographic data available for the MyNEWS app.
Therefore, I used the demographic data of a similar website, which is Family Mart and included other data of MyNEWS that I found on Similarweb.
I found that MyNEWS competitors listed on Similarweb have similar demographics. Most users are aged 25–34, and the gender distribution is also quite similar. So, I used Family Mart demographic data as a reference.
Access the final proposal on Canva [HERE]
FEEDBACK
- The Lotus's app has already been selected by many students. Cotton On has also been chosen by someone else. If I don’t mind repeating topics, can continue, but there might be comparisons with others’ work. So either choose MyNEWS or MyJPJ.
- Instead of using "use the same font size," can change it to "use the consistent font size."
- Presentation
- Search for third party research to find the demographic information or look for a similar website like Similarweb.
- Combine similar descriptions on the same page.
REFLECTION
Experience
Through this proposal, I have gained a lot of knowledge about user experience design and how to improve app interfaces. At first, it took me a long time to find three apps with clear problems and lower ratings, while also avoiding popular apps that we commonly use. Personally, I usually only download familiar apps, so this became a big challenge for me, I had to check many apps one by one and identify their issues. I spent around three days just finding three apps to analyze. In the end, I chose Lotus’s App, Cotton On, and MyNews. However, that both Lotus’s App and Cotton On were already taken by others, so I decided to move forward with the MyNEWS app for deeper analysis, redesign solutions, and comparison. I am very thankful that no one had selected MyNews hahaha, otherwise, I had to start the whole process again.
Observation
During the final proposal, I compared the MyNEWS app with its competitors which are My7E, My Family Mart and Donki. I found that learning the competitors strengths part, I was able to get inspiration and ideas for improving the MyNews app. This comparison helped me clearly identify the weaknesses in the MyNEWS app and allowed me to plan how to redesign.
Findings
I found that designing or improving an app is not easy. We need to carefully think about both the user experience and user interface. It’s not just about making the app look nice, but also about making it easy, clear and enjoyable for users. There are many small details that can affect how users feel. It’s important to look at the app from their point of view.
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