Designing the App: COMPLETE

          Over the course of the past few days, I have successfully completed the first step in my process of creating an iPhone app, which is designing the app. This process, though it seems extremely simple, is the most important part of the app creation process as the user interface as the user experience is fully dependent on it. No matter how much brilliant code is behind the app, the visual appeal is the factor that users want to be absolutely beautiful and perfect. Therefore, the most important step for the success of my app was creating a gorgeous design that would appeal to the users of my app.

          When researching various design tactics to see the preferable layouts of the consumer, I read that the app design has greatly evolved into simplicity. "At first, app design mimicked classic computing inputs like buttons and icons, but developers have recently taken advantage of touch controls by implementing gestures and swipes in their apps to get around." (Kovach 1).  Many apps have even had redesigns to accommodate for this revolution in the app design field.

             

                                      

        (picture from Business Insider)                                                                                                                           (picture from Business Insider)                 Apple Alarm Clock App: Cluttered with different functions                                         Third Party Alarm Clock App: Very simple with basic functions

          In the two app designs above, you can see that the they are both very different as the design on the left has different toggles and options, and the design on the right has two functions: to turn the alarm on, and to turn the alarm off. Regardless of the increased function of the left side design, users prefer the design on the right because it is much simpler to use and has a more attractive design. 

          Still, I needed to know if there was more to design than just simplicity. And there was. I read that some important factors were "usability and typography , beautiful color schemes, fine contrast and vibrant colors, ease of use, and clean interfaces" (Mekšs 1). I looked at some other designs to see how these elements were used to enhance the usability of the app. These are the different designs: 

                     

                (picture from 1st Web Designer)                                                                                            (picture from 1st Web Designer)        

                                                    Istid App                                                                                                                                   Jauntly App   

                                       

                    

                  (picture from 1st Web Designer)                                                                                          (picture from 1st Web Designer)                                                                           Moodswings App                                                                                                                           ChowNow Tip App
 
            

               (picture from 1st Web Designer)                                                                                          (picture from 1st Web Designer)                                 
                                            I Do Lists App                                                                                                                              Quote Roller App

          After looking at over twenty designs, I started to work on my own designs and as of Wednesday, February 27, 2013, I was able to create a design for my app that was not only simple and appealing, but also could carry out all of the functions if programmed correctly. The design I created attempted to follow all of the above protocols of design, while maintaining functionality that I was aiming towards. Here are some pictures of the design I developed:

App Main Screen: Swipe left on each individual category to expand. Settings button on top left.

          This is the main screen design of the app. When the user first opens the app, he/she will be greeted by this page. Here the user will be able to see a minimized schedule pane, homework pane, and finance pane. These panes show the schedule of the student at a given time (current class, next class, and after school activities), the homework assignments of the students in order of day due, and the main financial information of the student. To look at the rest of the schedule, homework, or finance information, the user can just swipe left from the respective pane and it will show an expanded menu. From the main screen, the user will be able to add to their schedule an after school activity, an additional homework assignment, or an additional financial expense by clicking on the "plus" button in the respective pane. To edit the master schedule or maintain any other app settings, there is a gear icon on the top left of the screen to allow the user of the app to do so.

 App Homework Screen: This is the expanded Homework screen

          This is the homework screen of the app from which the user of the app can control their homework assignments. This becomes a virtual "agenda" for the users as they can enter in various homework assignments that are due for the week or later. Each of the assignments can be grouped by the choice of the user, though in this screen shot the assignments are ordered by class. In the homework screen, the user can see assignments based on the day of the week or all the assignments at once depending on the option they pick. If they click on the label corresponding to the day of the week (directly under the "homework" label), then the assignments of the selected day of the week will come up.

 App Schedule Screen: This is the expanded schedule screen

          This is the schedule screen of the app from which the user can see an outline of their day. Here, the user is able to see all of the classes they have on a specific weekday, or if the high school/college runs on a cycle system, it can tell the user the specific class that they have on any specific day of the cycle. This screen also tells the user from what time period that each class is running as well as the respective rooms of each class. Also, the user of the app will get a notification of the specific class they should go to when the class before ends.

 App Finance Screen: This is the expanded finance screen

          This is the finances screen of the app in which the user can control their spending amounts as well as budget their income so that they can make the most of their money. As many high school and college students have jobs, this feature becomes very handy as it ensures that the student does not spend more money than they have in their bank account. In this section, the user is able to put in a monthly salary in which the app will reset each month (on the payday). Whenever the user makes a one time expense (buy lunch), they will have to enter the amount spent in the app. If the user has a recurring payment (apartment rent), then the app will automatically adjust the available balance depending on the frequency of the recurring expense. The finance section will also allow the user to set longterm and short term savings for different future expenses that the user of the app can allocate money to. This will help the user budget their money in a way that they are not only being responsible with their money, but are also getting the items they want.

          Overall, this design section is probably the most important step in advancing in my app. The need for the ideal design becomes a huge factor in the user experience category, so it is a huge step forward in the project to be finished the design aspect. The next step I will be focusing on is the programming aspect, and hopefully, I can have a fully functioning app by the end of this month!

          Stay tuned for my next entry, in which I will be documenting the programming status of my project!

Citations

Kovach, Steve. "The Incredible Evolution Of App Design." Business Insider. Business Insider, 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Mekšs, Daniels. "40 Beautifully Designed Mobile Apps With Excellent UI Experience in Mind." 1stwebdesigner. 1st Web Designer, 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

       

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Getting Started

          Ever since that faithful day in June 2007, the Apple iPhone has become a device that its users center their lives around. Whether it is setting an alarm, or even purchasing a coffee at Starbucks, iPhone users use their phones to accomplish these tasks. The main reason that the iPhone has become such a huge device and has transformed the mobile industry is solely due to the App Store, which, in fact, was released one year after the original iPhone. The App Store has become a huge online store of applications used by the millions of users of iPhones to create virtually unlimited additional functionalities for the iPhone. Some of these additional functionalities are games, such as the popular Angry Birds, or utilities, such as the Starbucks app, which allows the user to purchase coffee by simply scanning the iPhone. For the scope of this project, I plan to contribute the iPhone application market, by creating an app of my own.

          The way that contributing to the App Store works is very simple if put in plain terms. The user creates the app using the application Xcode (provided by Apple). Apps for the iPhone are written in Objective-C and Xcode compiles these apps in the correct packages for the App Store. After the app is created, the user creates a developer account with Apple, and submits the app for review. After the app has been approved by Apple, it is submitted into the app store, for the millions of users to download. Though this process seems pretty basic on the outside, it is in reality very complex as it requires a strong programming background in order to perfect the creation of the app.

          The app that I will be contributing to the app store is one geared towards high school and college students to account for the schedules, assignments, and finances of the students. One of the app's functionalities is creating a virtual schedule for the student, so the student knows exactly where to be at a given time. The schedule can be based on classes that are on certain cycles, or classes based on days of the week. The second functionality of the app is entering assignments. This serves as a virtual agenda book for the student, as the app allows for the student to enter in the various assignments for various classes with their due dates. When these due dates approach, the student gets a reminder on the phone informing him/her to complete the assignments. The third functionality of the app is to manage the student's finances. As many high school and college students have jobs, it becomes important that they balance their checking accounts so they do not overspend their income and they can budget their money for short-term and long-term expenses. The app will allow the student to enter a monthly income and then record their purchases, so they know how much money they can spend for the month. The app will also allow for student to set a price for an item they want, and the amount of money monthly, that they want to provide for the item. Once this amount is made, it will send the user a reminder.

          The overall goal for this project is to create a fully functional, and bug-free app, which will be released into the App Store. This app will be available for all students to download, and hopefully, I will be able to make a profit off of the app. First off, the materials that I will use a MacBook, the Xcode application, and an Apple developer account, three things that I already have, and you should get if you plan on imitating this process. In order to achieve this goal, I will have to follow a very specific procedure with a very specific timeline. For the next six weeks, I have a plan set up that will allow me to finish my app. For all of you that are reading and are not  a part of my class, I will have weekly updates to demonstrate each of the steps I am at. The steps that I will follow are: designing the app, programming the app, testing the app, adjusting the app based on testing, and finally, releasing the app into the App Store. After each week, I will record my progress by checking off each of the steps in my process. Hopefully, I will be able to succeed sticking to this schedule, and will reach my desired goal by the end of the remaining six weeks. 

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