Application Design 1 - Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal

26.09.2024 - 19.10.2024 / Week 1 - Week 4

IAN CHOO XIN ZHE / 0369451

Application Design 1 / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

INSTRUCTIONS

Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal

The first assignment focuses on creating a proposal document for a mobile app redesign project. Students are tasked with selecting an app that presents poor user experience or interface design and proposing improvements. The app choice requires approval from the module coordinator.

The project involves conducting research to understand user needs and identify key features for the redesign. This proposal will determine whether the concept is strong enough to move into development. Throughout the assignment, students are encouraged to refine their ideas by gathering feedback from peers and the module coordinator, making this an iterative process.

Choosing the 3 Apps

To begin my assignment, I explored several apps to identify ones with potential for UI and UX improvements. After evaluating multiple candidates, I shortlisted three apps: Google Classroom, Steam Mobile App, and Viu: Asian Dramas & Movies.

Fig 1.1 Description of Google Classroom

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is widely used in educational settings, but its interface can feel overwhelming, particularly for new users. Some users find it unintuitive to manage multiple classes, assignments, and notifications. The app also lacks visual hierarchy, which complicates the browsing experience. Redesigning this app would allow me to explore educational-focused design that simplifies navigation and improves readability.

Fig 1.2 Description of Steam

Steam Mobile App

I chose Steam because it serves a large user base of gamers but has several usability flaws, including outdated design, navigation issues, and cluttered interfaces. As a UI/UX student, I saw an opportunity to streamline the app’s design, especially for pages like Home, Library, and Wishlist, which users access frequently. The potential to modernize and improve its usability aligned well with my project goals.

Fig 1.3 Description of VIU

Viu: Asian Dramas & Movies

Viu caters to a niche audience of drama lovers but faces challenges in organizing vast content effectively. The app has cluttered layouts, inconsistent navigation, and UI issues that affect user engagement. Redesigning Viu presents an opportunity to enhance the user experience through better content categorization and smoother navigation, ensuring a more enjoyable viewing experience.

After selecting the three apps—Steam Mobile App, Google Classroom, and Viu—I began conducting deeper research on each to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This step was essential for creating an effective proposal by identifying specific design issues and aligning them with user needs.

App Design Task 1 by Ian Choo Xin Zhe

Choosing the Final App

After consulting with Mr. Zeon during class, I made the decision to proceed with redesigning the Steam mobile app. Although he advised me that several other students and seniors had also selected the same app in previous semesters, he emphasized that my version would need to stand out to avoid redundancy. Despite this warning, I chose to move forward with the Steam app because, among the three shortlisted apps, I felt it presented the most room for meaningful improvement.

I believe the Steam app has critical issues in areas like navigation, information hierarchy, and visual consistency, which align with my strengths as a UI/UX student. Additionally, I am confident that with a fresh approach and creative design solutions, I can make my redesign distinctive and unique, ensuring that my project stands out from others. This challenge also motivates me to push my skills further, as it offers the opportunity to address multiple user pain points in a high-profile app that many are familiar with.

Developing the Final Proposal for the Steam App

In the final version of my proposal slides, I focused on structuring the content around three key sections: Introduction, Background and Context, and Goals and Objectives. These sections were essential to build a solid foundation for the redesign proposal.

To strengthen the Introduction, I conducted additional research on the importance of mobile app design. This provided context on why usability, interface consistency, and user experience play a significant role in mobile app development. Incorporating this research helped justify the relevance of the redesign and emphasize the need for improvement in the Steam app.

Fig 1.4 Steam Global Traffic Map

I also carried out deeper research on Steam’s platform to gain better insights into its existing features and areas for improvement. This allowed me to include more detailed content in the slides, ensuring that my proposal was well-informed. During the research, I found user demographic data from Steam’s official website, which provided valuable context about its audience. Adding this demographic information gave more clarity about the target users and their expectations, making the proposal more comprehensive.

App Design Steam Proposal by Ian Choo Xin Zhe

FEEDBACK

Week 2

Mr. Zeon advised that if I was committed to the Steam app, I could proceed with it. However, he noted that a senior had already worked on the same app, meaning I needed to ensure my redesign was unique and differentiated. He also recommended transferring the content from my research document into presentation slides.

Week 3

During this feedback session, Mr. Zeon emphasized the importance of further refining my research. He encouraged me to explore the Steam app more thoroughly and include screenshots of the app’s interface to illustrate my points. He advised me to identify at least six weaknesses within the app, each supported by a corresponding screenshot for better clarity and evidence. I was reminded to prepare well-organized slides for my upcoming presentation.

Week 4 (Presentation Week)

Objectives Page: Rework and refine the objectives to improve clarity.

User Needs Slide: Include specific Steam app elements (e.g., page names) to tie the needs directly to the app’s features.

Main and Secondary Objectives: Ensure the presentation includes both a primary and secondary objective derived from the identified user needs.

Summarize Reviews Page: Make the reviews summary more concise and easy to understand.

Presentation Quality: Improve the presentation's overall clarity to make it more engaging and understandable. He noted there was room for improvement moving forward.

REFLECTION

Experience

Throughout this project, I experienced both challenges and rewarding moments. Choosing to redesign the Steam app initially felt exciting, but it came with added pressure since other students had tackled the same app before. The feedback and iterative nature of the project taught me to be flexible and open to changes, especially after receiving constructive criticism from Mr. Zeon during different stages. Each week, I refined my approach, whether it was improving my content, adjusting the objectives, or clarifying the user needs.

Observations

I observed that the Steam app has several critical areas for improvement, particularly regarding its navigation, UI consistency, and information organization. While I initially thought the issues were minor, deeper research revealed how cluttered and outdated certain pages feel. Another observation was the importance of presenting research visually, screenshots, side-by-side comparisons, and concise reviews were essential to making my points clearer and more impactful. Additionally, I noticed that competitor apps like the Xbox and PlayStation apps generally offer more streamlined and intuitive mobile experiences, setting a higher standard.

Findings

One of the key findings from this process is that user needs are heavily tied to specific app features. For example, users need quick access to core pages like Library, Store, and Wishlist, a design element I needed to emphasize. I also learned that goals and objectives must align directly with user pain points to ensure the redesign addresses real issues. Mr. Zeon's feedback about having unique and clear objectives helped me focus more on delivering meaningful changes rather than superficial improvements. Lastly, the feedback process was a valuable insight into how iteration improves design, each round of changes made my content stronger and clearer.

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Ian Choo Xin Zhe (0369451)