23/9/2025--//2025 (W1-W4)
LIU YITONG (0370907)
Application Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
INSTEUCTION
LECTURE & TUTORIAL
Week 1
Introduction to Mobile Application Design
Application Design Foundation: Application design is the essential framework
for great software, encompassing visual aesthetics, user interaction, and
guiding development principles.
Importance of Design: Effective mobile app design is crucial for boosting
engagement, retention, and overall customer satisfaction by providing a
seamless user experience.
Mobile Design Challenges: Designers must address constraints such as limited
screen real estate, diverse device capabilities, and the need for optimal
performance.
Key Mobile Interactions: The document details essential mobile gestures like
Tap, Swipe, Double-Tap, Pinch, and Drag, explaining their functions in
navigation and interaction.
Performance Optimization: Crucial strategies include minimizing app size
(e.g., compressing assets), implementing caching and lazy loading, and
optimizing network requests to reduce load times and conserve battery life.
Week 2
User-Centered Design, User Interface, User Experience
User-Centered Design (UCD): UCD is a design philosophy that places the
user at the forefront of the entire product development process; it is an
iterative cycle focused on understanding and incorporating user needs.
UCD vs. UX vs. UI Analogy: UCD is the overall philosophy, while UX focuses
on the product's functionality and layout (smooth interaction), and UI
deals with the aesthetics and visual presentation (bringing the experience
to life visually).
UCD Process: The process typically involves four main phases:
Discover/Analysis (business and user requirements), Define (problem
statement), Design (ideation and prototyping), and Deliver/Implement
(testing and launch).
The Five Planes of UX: UX is broken down into five interdependent planes,
from the abstract foundation to the concrete surface: Strategy, Scope,
Structure, Skeleton, and Surface.
Value of UX: Good UX is the holistic combination of utility
(functionality), usability (ease of use), and positive brand experience.
Week 3
Usability: Designing Products for User Satisfaction
Definition of Usability: Usability refers to the effectiveness,
efficiency, and success with which a user can achieve specific goals
within a product, measured by learnability and error rate.
Core Usability Components: These include Clarity and Learnability
(intuitive first encounter), Efficiency and Goal Completion
(straightforward task flow), Memorability, Error Tolerance, and
Satisfaction.
Common Usability Pitfalls: Designers should avoid overly complex
interfaces, inconsistent layouts, confusing navigation, lack of clear
labeling, and poor logical organization of information.
Nielsen's 10 Heuristics: The presentation highlights key usability
principles such as Visibility of System Status, Match Between System and
the Real World, User Control and Freedom, and Error Prevention.
Error Prevention Strategies: Effective error prevention involves two
types: elimination (removing the conditions where errors can occur) and
confirmation (providing a cancellation step before finalizing a critical
action).
TASK
We asked to look for 3 different application and prepare a draft proposal
that include content bellow
1. Problem Statement
Elevator pitch of your project, explain in a few words the problem you're
going to solve
2. Company intro
What are they doing, where, for who... basic intro about the company
3. Company app
- Show the main features
- Evaluate 3 great things and 3 lacking things about the app (according to
you)
- Summarize user reviews (both good and bad), what are the things we can
do about them as designers?
- Analyze the app from a usability point of view
- Gut feeling/opportunities: what do you feel can be better, what do you
want to do about this app?
4. Market research
- Find 3 competitors of your selected app, what do they do great, what is
lacking, what feature can you bring into your project?
- Left field: what feature would be great for your project that doesn't
come from your market?
5. Conclusion
Based on all these, where is your project going next?
Final Proposal
FEEDBACK
Week 1
No feedback
Week 2
For now, it's a good idea. We can proceed with further analysis.
Week 3
Competitors can draw more inspiration from their chat-based social systems.
REFLECTION
Looking back at the project's origins, the research phase of Task 1 was more than just data collection for me—it was a journey of uncovering the truth. Initially, I simply thought the Steam App was “unintuitive,” but through investigation, I truly grasped what users were struggling with. In any case, it was a solid start.
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