Sunday, 28 April 2019

OUGD603 - Research Brief - Existing Apps

OUGD603

Research Brief


Existing Apps

Networking apps
- Linked In





Functions
Home, Jobs, Network, Profile.
Home shows posts by people in your network as well as posts people in your network have liked. Each post allows the user to like, comment and share that post. 
The network function helps you to find other professionals. This is through suggestions or allowing you to search for individuals. 
Profile - Image, job title, university, location, short bio. Header image. Dashboard - Skills/endorsements, contact info, interests. 

- Slack
Collaboration software




Teamwork in Slack happens in channels – a single place for messaging, tools and files – helping everyone save time and collaborate together.
Key functions:
- searchable history
 - organised conversations 'channels' can be divided up by client, team, project.
(too complex - but good function - able to share files)

The Dots
Creative Network



Key Functions:
Get Credit for projects you have worked on.
Be inspired - Discover 100,000's of projects and the teams behind them.
Get hired - 1000's of brands search for projects to discover talent.
Network and collaborate. follow and message the people and teams behind the work. 
Apply for Jobs.


Designed apps

Yono

It has really clean and eye-catching interfaces with a perfect colour scheme: all interfaces are designed with beautiful colour contrasts between red and black, which make it typical and fashionable. And colour gradients are also used in some buttons and smaller sections. That makes people focus on these special parts and give users a sense of hierarchy.

Water Tracker App

It is really a great idea to monitor the watering stats of plants and also remind users to water their plants timely. Moreover, its background photos and images of different plants under monitoring are really vivid and fresh to let users have a good mood while using. It also offers many plant details for users to clearly and easily know plant conditions, like humidity, temperature, light and more. It's colour scheme, black background with white and green icons/buttons can not only echo with the main theme of green plant, but also make this app more acceptable for users.

Space



With an illustration style, it also features many vivid animated buttons, photos and options. Its blue colour also lets users feel good and comfortable no matter whether they use it in the morning or at night. Moreover, it enables users to manage their lives with many functional interfaces, like Mood calender, Daily services, Today’s Brief and Voice Diary, etc. So, it is sweet and appealing.

Take Away:
- functionality is key. I find LinkedIn has many features but it feels overcrowded. Slack is helpful as users can share files, but there is iften too much going on in each thread to keep track of conversations. The Dots is similar in functionality to linked in, but more refined. The assets are given more room to breathe and it does not feel so cluttered or text heavy. The interface feels softer.
The other apps I have looked at are purely for the design aspect of them. All have distinct colour palettes and all use gradients or shadows to add depth to the interface.


Saturday, 27 April 2019

OUGD603 - Research Brief - Logo development

OUGD603

Research Brief


Logo development







I don't think the name "Curie's Physics Club' is working as a name. 
Instead, I will try a shorter name.

Possible new names:
momentum - refers to the app putting things in motion for women's future as physicists.
Collision - two people coming together to form a relationship/mentorship 
Big band - starting a women's movement in physics



Potential Colour Scheme






I have decided to go with a bright colour scheme to appeal to the younger target audience. It is a feminine colour palette which will reinforce the idea of empowering women through connecting them in this app. I have decided to develop the atom structure logo as I think it lends its self to phone home screens, as well as social media icons. It is simple and easy to remember and recognise. It can also be animated easily. 




Sunday, 21 April 2019

OUGD603 - Research Brief - Initial Ideas


OUGD603 

Research Brief

Initial Ideas

·      Infographic identifying microaggressions towards women

·      An App, like The Dots or Linked In, that can connect female students with female professionals in STEM, providing role models at local levels.

·      Science club for girls. Address the gap in female participation between GCSE and A-level. 
·      Video/animation explaining the accomplishments of women in STEM

·      Create an infographic/booklet/ a video aimed at Ofsted to encourage them to make gender equality part of their inspection criteria.

·      Branding for a ‘Gender Champion’.

·      Poster series about influential women in Science / STEM – Suitable for secondary schools.


I have chosen to develop the app idea, science club for girls ideas and the branding for a Gender Champion in schools.

First I began by looking at general imagery in this area to get a feel for what was already being produced.










App idea
Key Characteristics: Platform for females entering the field of physics or other STEM subjects to identify and communicate with role models both locally and nationally.

Taking inspiration from apps like Linked In and The Dots





Would have profiles and a hashtag function to find people relevant to your field.
Could have a mentor connection capability to pair young people carrying on in non-compulsory education (A-levels, undergrad) to connect with mentors already practising in the field.
Academics could post their journal writing on the app to increase how many cites they get.
- must be easy to use, concentrates on opening a line of communication
- simple interface, not clutered
- girls only






Girls Science club
Aimed at 15-16-year-olds. has to be applicable to a school setting. Branding can be applied to worksheets, booklets, presentation slides.
Must be age appropriate. Not childish. Stylish. Must not take away from / distract from learning.
Catchy name.
Possible names:
-Atomic Women's Club
- Valentina's physics club (after Valentina Tereshkova, the first women on the moon) 
- wonder club for girls
- Curie's Girls Club


Gender Champion
for girls or boys.
Pin badge
branding applicable to power point presentations
some kind of reward system. 



I will develop the App idea further, using the sketches from the 'Curie's Girls Club' as inspiration for branding.