persona for iPhone app design

Week 7 Reading

The iSO technology provides unique features for their users such as multitasking, printing, and VoiceOver.  To create an application (app), it is vital for the builders to understands every detail, even the artwork, icons, images, buttons; to work with the iSO system well together. The dimension for each Apple devices may vary, so it is to watch out the sizes of what the app is designing for, also making it work on every devices. For iPhone and iPod touch, the home screen can be display in one orientation only. So if one is designing an app for these devices, he or she has to keep the orientation portrait. It won’t matter for iPad when it works on both portrait and landscape.

It is also vital to understand all types of gesture that Apple users will perform when they use the devices. They are tap, drag, flick,  swipe, double tap, pinch open, pinch close, touch and hold and shake. So for one to understand those gestures well, they can design app to work with those gestures.

There are two types of software that run in iOS, which are iOS apps and web content. The instructions also provides some guidelines for builders to be aware of when they design the app, first is to create all a list that includes all the features that one thinks the users might like; targets the audiences; the filter the features through the audience definition; and keep the cycle going.

There are certainly a lot of things to consider when we build an app, the instructions are certainly helpful for us who had never build an app before. It is difficult for us to combine the functions and the look together, sometimes you want an appeal display then you have to forgo some functions. I will say it is a good lesson for us to learn how to balance in between.


* iPhone app design mistakes

* Intro to Iphone Design

* Best practices in designing iPhone

* iPhone app guidelines 

Week 8 reading

In chapter 12 the author gives a detail explanations of not asking the users too much information, especially personal data, just get what you really need for the task. If one force the users to give out a lot of information, it is what might happen: they will give out fake information; you will get fewer complete information in return; and more importantly, it made you look bad. Instead, what one ought to do is to: only make the users provide what you really need to use; do not give out too many options; and show the users something in exchange for what they gave out.

 Over whelming graphics and sound effect site does not work well on any kind of websites, except entertainment sites, pure branding sites, and portfolio sites for web developers. Other than those on the list, sizzle effects, crazy graphics would not work do well on the other sites. It is more important in terms of function that “looking good” on a site sometimes when it is for people to get things done on there. If a site contains sizzle graphics and it takes a long time to load up, it will probably not provide an excellent experience to the users.

The author however, is not asking us never to do those things when we practice. It is to depend on what we are working on, when we are sure of what we are doing and always test it before it launches.

I enjoy reading the letters of this chapter since I can certainly learn a lot from the author. It is also helpful to imagine yourself using the site when you build it, how would you feel if that problem occurs to you. It is also vital to get feedback form everyone else because sometimes you would get lost in your own work. 


* Selling the steak, not the sizzle
* How much information is reasonable?
* Do not ask for too much sign up data
* How much information should you ask?

iPhone App wireframes

iPhone App sketches/thumbnails

iPhone App project statement

Project Statement

Background

A leading smartphone app company wants to develop a clothing application for use on the iPhone.  The application should allow users to search for clothes using photos taken from their camera.  This will appeal to people on the go who see an article of clothing that they like and are interested in getting product information about it.  The user snaps a picture of the item, and uses the clothing application to find prices and store locations.

Target Audiences

The application will be specifically designed around women ages 15-25, but the application will appeal to a larger range of people and will likely be used by both genders.  The application will also appeal to:

• People who like unique applications
• People who like fashion and clothes

Objectives

• Create a useful and successful clothing application
• Out-sell other applications in its genre
• Flexible enough to be adapted for use on Android phones

Obstacles

Application should conform to Apple’s iPhone standards.  This includes using the set iPhone dimensions along with incorporating the iPhone’s UI elements.  People may be hesitant about buy an application when so many can be downloaded for free.

Key Benefit

The user will love using the application and will leave a positive review recommending it and rating it highly.

Tone

The application will be fashionable, cute, and fun.

Media

• iPhone
• iPod Touch

Week 6 Reading

Goodwill
When it comes to practicing a website, it is all about goodwill, as if maintaining a user-friendly site for the users. At the beginning of the chapter, the author told a story of his own to bring out the problem of most of the existing websites. They hide the information that users want to see; to avoid troubles. It is however, making the users frustrated and lower the likeliness to continue using the website later on. If most of the users come to one site to do some specific tasks, the web builders should make those tasks easy to access so one can go through them right away. After all, it is for the users to use the website the way that benefit them, and it keeps the web site running.
In the chapter after, when most of the people thinking they had created a website useful for everyone, they have to make sure it is assessable. That is, to make the site easy to use for people with disability as well. There should be a lot of tools helping disable people to use the site better on the page, for example, blind people has to go through all of the lines on the page and listen to find some keywords that would probably lead to what they are looking for. To make that step easier, the web builder should put a link on top of each page "skip to main content" so that person can save a lot of time of listening irrelevant contents. If a website is already confusing for the average users, then what about the people with disabilities? One shocking number that the author suggested is that 65% of the population has a disability, so the web designer and developer should not ignore that large portion of people. They might have money to spend and it is the law to benefit them. It is the right thing to do after all, just a bit more effort then they could make life easier for people. I believe there is nothing wrong with that.
Chapter 11 is really inspiring, most of us, average people might not notice how people with disability live their daily life. Some tasks that seem easy for us may take them a much longer time to complete it.
Just as when we are using the computer, it is really easy for us to scan through the whole page and look for the content we want, but for blind people, they have to turn up their speakers, listening closely to each word on the page to find something. With the advanced technology today, I believe it is easier to create assessable website for everyone than a few years ago. When I build a website, I must keep in mind that the users include people with disability as well.

* Designing Accessible Websites 
* Accessible and Attractive Websites
* How to maintain accessible Websites
* 50 tips to build user friendly sites
* 50 Beautiful and user friendly navigation menus