Brief 14 - Planning

The first thing to do with this brief is decide on the pages which are needed in this App.

Pages

• Login/sign up
• Add a new visit + creating the visit/edit the visit
• city homepage (when created as a visit)
• About city
• Map view of city
• Activities - entertainment, culture, sports, sight seeing, popular etc.
• Individual activity page
• My planner view

These are the main pages which are needed. I want a smooth integration and navigation between them all so have to think about what will be the best approach to get this.

To get a clearer idea for this I created a site map to be able to work out how I wanted the navigation to work.

My current idea is to have two tabs on the bottom of the app which the user can flick between - activities and planner. The activities is where they can see all available in the city and add to their planner. The planner is where it shows their daily activities. The ability for the user to see both of these easily is important as it is the main reason for the App.

Brief 14 - Travel App Research

To start this brief and figure out exactly what features I want to include, it is beneficial to do research into what is already out there and what these all do. I decided to look into three of the top travel apps to see what features they have and why they are so popular.

Airbnb
Airbnb opens the doors to the world's most interesting places to stay and is the simplest way to earn money from your extra space. With over 600,000 listings in more than 34,000 cities, Airbnb connects you with the experience that's right for you.

This App is about finding accommodation while on holiday. It allows users to share details of spaces they have to let, and allows others to pay to holiday there. This is a worldwide App, and has features such as directions, messages, wish lists and itinerary.

TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is a website and App which provides reviews for travel-related content. This is run on user generated content.

The website an App is all about looking up and writing reviews for anything travel related, from a restaurant in Madrid, to a landmark in South America. The App also allows users to book flights and hotels, as well as download maps for cities and see all the attractions around the city.

City Maps 2 Go
City Maps 2 Go is the #1 travel app that lets you discover new places, beautiful spots and insider tips at the  touch of a button. Collect your personal best-of and save it for later. You will experience your best journeys yet with detailed offline maps and in-depth travel content on your mobile travel companion.

This App allows the user to look over city maps and plan a trip, create lists and look through a variety of activities available in the cities it supports. It works on a list interface, with a huge variety of content.


There are a few features that run across them all in being able to look at a lot of activities for the different cities and being able to add these to lists/book these. Airbnb is obviously less aimed at planning a full holiday, just looking at booking accommodation, but the other two are very much led by planning a trip. TripAdvisor works on user content, creating a more realistic view of these activities, and City Maps 2 Go has the Map feature to allow for a view of the city in question. Another feature that is obvious on all of these App is the importance of the imagery and having good quality images to clearly show the city and activities.

Overall they each have a lot of overlap, but each has its own individual element which makes it stand out. It is clear that it is impossible to get a truly unique App, but creating something which has an individual element to it is possible.


First hand research

To get a clearer idea of how these Apps worked, I downloaded them so I am able to experience them and see how features work/what I like and don't like about the Apps.

In terms of the aesthetic, Airbnb has the best appearance in the size of the images, typeface choice and iconography. It makes it seem that bit more professional. A cleaner and simpler layout also enhances usability. The layout on this App is the same on every page, keeping listed views on imagery, as well as having a top bar which stays the same no matter what page of the app you are on.

While TripAdvisor might not be the best looking App, it is the simplest to use as it lays everything out immediately. The imagery is included in this App, but they are smaller, with a larger focus on the reviews given.

Brief 14 - Project Rationale

This brief is to create a travel App which holiday-goers can use before and on their trip to plan their activities for each and every day.

The concept is to create an App which deals with the holiday planning past the booking of it. The idea is that the user can input the city they are visiting, as well as the dates, and the App will show all the activites available, from restaurants to culture and entertainment events. This is to create ease and simplicity for the user in planning their trip. The App will also have a map and allow users to map their day plan to show them the route and transport options to get around all their activities.

The main focus of this App is on the planner, with simple features to support the usability of this. A mixture of flat design and photographic imagery will be used in the aesthetic of the App. This is to create a professional but friendly appearance.

The deliverable for this brief is a proposed mobile format App, with possible extension to Tablet and Desktop format. As well as this, there will be a clear brand for the App and proposed promotional material.

Brief 15 - Project Rationale

The aim of this brief is to create a fully usable typeface which comes in a variety of styles and weights. Building on a typeface previously created, refinement and editing is the initial aim, with expansion and technical changes made following this.

The original typeface is a slab serif, initially created by hand. The idea of this brief is to refine and expand without taking away from the original design. The end product should be clear and readable, with consideration into the various weights and styles used.

To present this typeface, a typeface specimen book will be created, showing off all aspects of the design, from the initial hand drawn designs to the finish product in use.

Brief 15 - Existing Typeface

Below is the existing typeface created previously as part of my self branding in OUGD602, as well as the initial research and production to creating this typeface. Link

To start this brief off, I want to reflect on the typeface as it stands and how I can move forward with it and refine it.

There are definitely changes that need to be made, with some letters/numbers needing drastic changes made to work better. I think the numbers are definitely in need of change. The only numbers I am actually happy with is the 1, 4 & 7. This is because when I originally envisioned the typeface, I didn't really think about the numbers that much, and then realised I needed them so worked around the designs of the letters to create them.

Letters that need changing are: C, G, K, Q, R, S, T, W.

I also need to expand this typeface to include a lowercase, and more punctuation.

Brief 15 - Brief

Brief 14 - Changed Brief

Original Brief:

On review of this brief and my overall portfolio, I decided on changing this brief to suit the kind of thing which I want to work on now I am nearing the end of the course. Instead of focussing on just New York, I want to focus on travel in general. The main aspect of this original brief which I had an idea for was to create an App which helps in planning a holiday in New York. This concept is what I want to move forward with, but instead of just for New York, I want to create it for worldwide, so users are able to put in the city they are in and plan a trip. Around this, I want to create a brand and create promotional material for the brand and for the App.

Changed Brief: