Application Design: Project 1_Mobile Application Proposal
22 April 2025 - 18 May 2025
CHONG CHENG TAO (0371072)
Application Design | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media | Taylor's
University
Project 1: Mobile Application Proposal
List
LECTURES
Week 1
In this week, we were having a briefing sessions with Mr Zeon for the overview of this module.
Why App Design is Important, as it provide:
- Seamless UX, the user flow that user expected to do.
- Engagement retention, enhance times/frequent user uses the app.
- Overall customer satisfaction.
- Intuitive navigation.
- Responsive layout.
Importance of Mobile in Digital Era
- Ubiquity of smartphones
- Shift in user behavior
- Mobile-first approach
- Competitive advantage
The Unique Challanges
- Limited screen real estate
- Diverse devide capability
- Contexsual accessibility
The User-Center Design (UCD) Approach
- Research, Design, Evaluation
Benefit of UCD
- Increased user satisfaction.
- Improve product adoption.
- Reduce development costs
- Enhanced brand reputation
Designing for Small Screen
- Compact layout
- Intuitive navigation
- Tactile interactions
- Visual hierarchy
Key Takeways
- Cohesive UX
- Continuous optimization
- Engaging trend
Week 2
User Centered Design (UCD)
UCD considers the needs of the residents (users). It provides framework and foundation to create a product.
- Discover / Analysis
- Define
- Design
- Validate
- Develop
Return Of Investment (ROI) of UCD
- Improve credibility
- Increase exposure
- Imrpove performance
- Reduce resource burden
User Experience Design
UX Design focuses on functionality to ensure a snooth and functional interactions.
User Interface Design
UI design deals with the aesthetics of the product.
Iterative cycle: Keep getting feedback & imporve based on that.
Mr Zeon suggested a website, Material 3 which is a Google's open source design system. It is excellent to take as a design guideline for our redesign app.
Week 2
What is Usability?
Usability refers to the effectiveness, efficiency and success of a user in utilizing a product or design within a specific context.
Usability asks:
- How well users can achieve their goals
- How quickly they can learn it and how many errors they encounter.
Usability includes two factors:
- Clarity and Learnability
- How intuitively the users understand the interface & function when first encountering it.
- Efficiency and Goal Completion
- Does the interface guide users towards achieving their goals (straightforward & time-saving)?
- Does it minimize unnecessary steps or complexities?
*Example of good usability: Log in with Google, Apple ID and Facebook account, this fasten the log in process and enhance user flow.
Common Usability Pitfalls:
- Compelx inetrfaces
- Confusing navigation
- Lack of clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
- Inadequate error handling
Bounce rate: Measure of the percentage of visitors who leave a website after veiwing only 1 page.
User retention: The ability of a product or service to keep its users engaged and active over time.
Call to action (CTA): A phrase or button designed to encourage a user to take a specific desired action.
Progressive Disclosure: UI design technique that reveals information and features to users in a phased, step-by-step manner, rather than all at once.
Fig 1.1 Progessive Disclosure
Key Principle of Usability
- Consistency
- Simplicity
- Visibility
- Feedback
- Error Prevention
INSTRUCTIONS
This is the Module Information Booklet for this module:
Application Design: Mobile Application Proposal
Requirements
In the first exercise, we are required to create a proposal for the mobile application project. We are required to redesign an existing app that are unsatisfied in terms of the user experience, interface design and more.
Criteria of selected application:
- NO BIG COMPANY!
- SUFFICIENT COMMENT & REVIEW FROM APP STORE/PLAYSTORE (RECENT YEARS).
- MAKE SURE THE APPS HAVE MANY PAGES (>10).
I would like to choose the apps that I have commonly used, which I can analyze it in both user and designers perspective. I'm choosing some of my "Love & Hate" apps, which I love their services and features, but at the same time there are flaws that can't be ignored
Progress
My selected apps are:
- pixiv
- Bandcamp
- Blogger
Fig 2.1 Apps
I review the apps with the my own user experience, incorporating with the review of user from Playstore, App store, Reddit and other platform. I focused on discover the apps' problem in term of user interface, user experience flow and frontend problems.
Below are the initial proposal for these 3 apps.
Fig 2.2 Draft Proposal
Mobile Application Proposal
After consulting Mr. Zeon, I decided to go with the first choice, pixiv mobile app. As I am more familiar with the app and have more ideas to improve it. I've been using the platform since 2021 and have experienced the user interface evolution on the platform.Japanese online community, pixiv primarily focused on art, particularly illustrations, manga, and anime fan art. The app serves as a hub for both amateur and professional artists, allowing users to upload, showcase, and engage with creative content from around the world. Its core concept emphasizes community-driven content where users can interact through likes, bookmarks, comments, and following other creators.
*Pixiv is the company, pixiv (small letter) is the platform/app.
Requirements
For the final propsal, we will need to include:
- Background research of the app
- Strengths & weaknesses analysi
- User analysis
- Competitor analysis
- Redesign objectives and goals
- Redesign strategics
- Reserach method and plan
Main Features Page
Fig 2.3 Main feature page 1
Fig 2.4 Main feature page 2
Fig 2.5 Main feature page 3
Core Weaknesses
The main weaknesses of pixiv app are:
- Navigation bar & deep nested navigation structure.
- 1:1 fixed ratio artwork display / preview
- Ads display affecting layout
- Inconsistent UI design
- Lack of website features
- Unable to organize personal artwork
User Analysis
I'm using Similiarweb to get the basic user data of pixiv app.
Fig 2.6 User analysis
Competitors
For competitors, I find the app that have the same or similair function as pixiv, which is art sharing & browsing platform, 3 apps are choice for analyzing (left to right):
- Art Station
- DeviantArt
- Cara
Fig 2.7 Competitor apps
The 3 main ascpect for comparision are:
- Artwork organization
- Quick access to uplaod artwork
- UI design
Besides, I make a table to compare other general aspects.
Fig 2.8 Competitor analysis table
Fig 2.9 Mobile Application Proposal
FEEDBACK
Week 2
General Feedback:
- Add conclusion for each companies / apps.
Specific Feedback:
- Proceed with either pixiv or Bandcamp options.
- For pixiv app redesign, include more features from web (Commission)
Week 3
General Feedback:
- Add conclusion for each companies / apps.
Specific Feedback:
- Research on the target audience and audience's interest.
Week 4
General Feedback: -
Specific Feedback:
- The proposal is okay to submit.
REFLECTIONS
This project has been a good starting point for the module, allowing me to deeply examine an application and analyze both its strengths and areas for improvement. Through this process, I was able to develop a more critical perspective toward UI/UX design, paying closer attention to how design decisions impact user experience.
By identifying core usability issues such as navigation complexity, layout limitations, and disruptive ad placement, I learned how even widely used platforms can benefit from thoughtful UX refinement. This experience also helped me understand the importance of balancing usability with aesthetic appearence, especially in creative communities.
Overall, this project gave me a solid foundation in user-centered thinking and has motivated me to further explore how design decisions shape user behavior and experience.
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