APPLICATION DESIGN 1 - PROJECT 1 : MOBILE APPLICATION PROPOSAL

 24/09/2025 - 15/10/2025 (Week 1 - Week 4)

Madeline Ordelia Tjahjadi (0376920)

Bachelor of Design in Creative Media

Project 1 : Mobile Application Proposal

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Table of Contents

1. Lectures

2. Instruction

3. Project 1 

4. Feedback 

5. Reflection

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1. Lectures 

Week 1 (24/09/2025)

WHY MOBILE APP IS IMPORTANT

Effective mobile app design provide:

- Seamless user experience 

- Booting engagement —> the number of time you interact with the service

- Retention 

- Overall customer satisfaction

LAYING THE FOUNDATION: UNDERSTANDING USABILITY

1. Defining usability —> how effective and efficiently user can accomplish their goals, it encompasses factors like learnability, memorability, and user satisfaction
2. Applying usability principle —> to ensure that the app reach the user, includes navigation, information architecture, and visual hierarchy (somehow all of us already know and its a general understanding)
3. Conducting usability testing —> observes user interaction with the app 
4. Developing practical skills —> combines theory and practical, includes developing proficiency in design tools, prototyping technique and user research methodologies

IMPORTANCE OF MOBILE IN DIGITAL ERA

1. Ubiquity of smartphones 
2. Mobile-first approach
3. Shift in user behaviour
4. Competitive advantage

DESIGNING FOR MOBILE : EMBRACING THE UNIQUE CHALLENGE 

1. Limited screen real estate —> prioritize contents and interactions to ensure clean and uncluttered UI (thinks about different scenario for users to adapt what they need)
2. Diverse device capabilities 
3. Contextual awareness —> consider the environment and situation 

APPLYING USER-CENTERED DESIGN (UCD)

1. In-depth research
2. Design
3. Evaluation

note :

What to do to make an application: 

- Why you use it and install it 

- Target user 

- What they want and how they will satisfied

Week 2 (1/10/2025)

User Centered Design

Overall philosophy that considers the needs of the users, provides framework and the foundation to create product

User Experience Design

UX design focuses the functionality, ensuring smooth and functional interaction

User interface design

Deals with aesthetic and finishes of the interior, brings the UX to life visually

UCD PROCESS

Discover/Analysis 

• Business requirements 
• User Personas

Define

• Ideation 
• Experience mapping

Design --> UX and UI

Validate

• Usability testing
• Prototype validation
• Minimum viable product

Develop --> Production 

WHY WE APPLY UCD  

Improve credibility --> trust in the system

Increase exposure --> traffic/audience size, return visitors

Improve Performance --> ease of use

Reduce resource burden --> developments time, maintenance and redesign costs

UX UI COMPARISON

Focus

UX --> entire user experience

UI --> visual elements

Scope

UX --> research & usability

UI --> incorporating brand elements, balancing aesthetic and usability

Deliverables

UX --> create user persona sitemaps and wireframes

UI --> mockups and prototypes

Week 3 (08/10/2025)

What is usability?

• Effectiveness, efficiency
• how well users can achieve their goals, and how quickly they can learn it
• concerned with user need and context
• measurable

Clarity and Learnability

how intuitive users can understand the interface upon first encountering it?

can they find what they need without prior experience?

Efficiency and goal completion 

does the interface guide users towards achieve their goals?

does it minimize unnecessary steps?

Usability pitfalls

• complex interfaces
• confusing navigation
• lack of clear calls to action (CTAs) 
• inadequate error handling 

Principle of usability

1. Consistency (ex app: adidas)

Pillars of consistency

- navigation system

- page layout and menu structure

- fonts and typography

- branding

2. Simplicity (ex app: Airbnb)

- effortless to use

- crystal clear communication

3. Visibility (ex app:  )

- clarity and hierarchy --> well placed icons, menus, and clear labelling

- focus and attention

4. Feedback

- Confirmation and Clarity

- Guidance and learning --> textual message, visual cues, sounds, and haptic feedback

5. Error prevention

why is it important?

- reduced frustration

- increased efficiency

- improved accuracy

Week 4 (15/10/2025)

Card sorting method

method to understand how users group and categorize information, it helps determine an organization scheme that aligns with user's mental models. 

Card sorting is a technique that inform the design of navigation menus, and content strategy

Types of card sorting 

• Open card sorting

Figure 1.1: Open card sorting

• Closed card sorting

Figure 1.2: Closed card sorting

• Hybrid card sorting 

Figure 1.3: Hybrid card sorting

Figure 1.4: Hybrid card sorting

• Remote card sorting (online)

Figure 1.5: Remote card sorting

use miro, figjam, or any online tools

moderated --> facilitator is present, qualitative insights (15 samples)

unmoderated --> facilitator not present, quantitative data collection (>50 samples), faster and less expensive

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2. Instruction

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3. Project 1 

Exercise in class: 

In week 2 there was an activity required a group of 2 people to create a well-designed plane ticket. 

Fig 3.1: Original plane ticket.

As shown in Figure 3.1, the plane ticket information is cluttered and overwhelming. We need to redesign it to make the information clearer and more organized.

Fig 3.2: redesign plane ticket.

In Figure 3.2, we redesigned it to make the information clearer and improve the visual hierarchy.

In week 5 (originally in week 4) we have activity to do card sorting based on example. Below was the outcome from our group activity. 

Fig 3.3: Card sorting

Project 1:

We need to create a proposal discussing the app we plan to improve, including its problem statement, pros and cons, usability, market study, and areas for further development.

Mobile Application Proposal - Madeline

In case of an error in Canva, below is the PDF:

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4. Feedback

Week 1 

After choosing what app I will improve, Mr. Slyvain recommend me to search more feature on another app that is not related such as travel app for booking. 

Week 2

I gave him my progress and Mr. Slyvain told me to put screenshot for each features i have problem with so he can get a visualization

Week 3

I need to include more screenshot of the app I mentioned and add usability and conclusion

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5. Reflection

Doing this assignment helped me understand which parts of an app may be lacking and how to create a user-centered design. It also taught me what important aspect to consider when developing an app, such as usability. Through this process, Mr. Slyvain taught us that designing an app not just about the appearance, but also about meeting users' needs. This project was both challenging and quite fun because i get to explore new words especially as a UI/UX designer. I hope in the future this project will be my head start knowledge for a better project in the future.