Application Design Week 4

09/23/2025 - 10/16/2025 / Week 1 - week 4

Khansa Raudlatus Syahiidah / 0374511

Application Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Task 1 : Re-Design Application Proposal

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Table of Contents:

1. Lecture

2. Introduction

3. Goodreads app remake / re-design

4. Reflection

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1. LECTURES

Week 1:

Understanding Usability: Intro to Application Design

1. Defining Usability
2. Applying Usability Principles
3. Conducting Usability Testing
4. Developing Practical Skills

Importance of Mobile in The Digital Era

1. Ubiquity of Smartphones
2. Shift in User Behavior
3. Mobile-First Approach
4. Competitive Advantage

User-Centered Design Approach

    Understanding the target users and their needs. It involves a iterative process of research, ideation, prototyping, and testing to ensure the final product delivers a seamless and intuitive experience.

Applying User-Centered Design (UCD)

1. Research

    The UCD process begins with in-depth user research, gathering insights into their needs, behaviors, and pain points.

2. Design

    Armed with user insights, designers can begin creating wireframes, prototypes, and mockups that address the identified user needs. This iterative design phase involves continuous refinement and feedback gathering.

3. Evaluation

    Usability testing and user feedback are crucial in the UCD process, as they help validate design decisions and identify areas for improvement.

Benefits of User-Centered Design

1. Increased User Satisfaction
2. Improved Product Adoption
3. Reduced Development Costs
4. Enhanced Brand Reputation 

Prototyping and Testing

1. Lo-Fi Prototypes

Begin with quick, low-fidelity prototypes to explore design concepts and get early user feedback. Paper prototypes and clickable wireframes are great ways to validate ideas efficiently.

2. Interactive Prototypes

Progress to more sophisticated, interactive prototypes that simulate the full user experience. Tools like InVision and Adobe XD allow you to create highly interactive demos for in-depth user testing. 

3. Iterative Testing

Continuously test prototypes with real users to uncover usability issues and refine the design. Use a mix of in-person and remote testing methods to gather insights throughout the design process.

Week 2: User Centered Design

User Centered Design (UCD)

    A design philosophy that puts users at the forefront of the entire product development process.

    It's an iterative cycle where designers focus on understanding user needs and incorporating that understanding into every stage of design, from the very beginning (conception) to the final product.

1. User Centered Design

    UCD is the overall philosophy that considers the needs of the residents (users). It offers the structure and basis for developing a product that is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.

2. User Experience Design

    User experience (UX) design is concerned with the house's usability, including room proportions, layout, and mobility. UX design expands on that basis by ensuring a seamless and effective interaction.

3. User Interface Design

    The aesthetics and finishes of the interior (visual perception and interaction) are the focus of UI design. The user experience is graphically brought to life through UI design.

UCD Process

1. Discover / Analysis
2. Define
3. Design 
4. Validate
5. Develop

User Experience Design (UX)

    A person’s perception and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, service or system, focuses on the users' feelings and experiences rather than our own perceptions. It gives a task purpose and worth. It establishes an emotional bond.

Week 3: Usability

Usability:

• Effectiveness, efficiency, and success of a user in utilizing a product or design within a specific context.
• Usability examines how successfully users can accomplish their objectives with a product or design, taking into account how quickly they pick it up and how frequently they make mistakes.
• Concerned with user needs and context: A usable design adapts to the user's situation and caters to their specific needs.
• Measurable: Usability can be evaluated through testing methods to identify areas for improvement. 

Common Usability Pitfalls

1. Complex Interface

    A complex app that is hard for users to use and navigate because of things like disorganized layouts, inconsistent visuals, and complicated procedures that might result from a lack of priority.

2. Confusing Navigation

    When users struggle to locate navigation menus or buttons, it can impede their ability to explore and access desired content

3. Lack of Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)

    when users are not given explicit, understandable prompts to guide them toward a desired action, leading to confusion, frustration, and a higher likelihood that they will abandon the app

4. Inadequate Error Handling

    Insufficient or ineffective management of errors and exceptions that occur during a program's execution.

Key Principle of Usability:

1. Consistency

    Maintaining a uniform and predictable experience by using the same design elements, language, and behaviors across all screens and interactions.

1. User-Friendly
2. Cohesive Experience
3. Intuitive Navigation
4. Familiarity & Learnability
5. Stronger Brand Identity

2. Simplicity

    • Effortless to Use

        Minimize the number of steps users need to take to complete tasks. The interface should be intuitive and self explanatory, reducing the need for extensive instructions or exploration.

    • Crystal Clear Communication

        Utilize familiar symbols and terminology that users readily understand. This eliminates confusion and ensures users can navigate the interface with confidence.

3. Visibility

    • Clarity and Hierarchy

        Information and interactive elements should be presented clearly, with appropriate visual hierarchy guiding users' attention towards the most important actions or content.

    • Focus and Attention

        The app's design should direct users' focus towards the elements that are most relevant in the current context. Avoid cluttering the screen with unnecessary elements that could distract users from their goals.

4. Feedback

Confirmation and Clarity: 

    Good feedback provides users with a clear signal that their actions have been registered and understood by the app. This confirmation helps users feel confident in their interactions and avoid confusion. 

Guidance and Learning: 

    Effective feedback goes beyond simple confirmation. It can also guide users towards successful task completion or provide learning opportunities. ex. Textual message, Visual cues, Sounds, Haptic feedback.

5. Error Prevention

    • Reduced Frustration: Imagine accidentally deleting an important file! By preventing such errors, users avoid frustration and wasted time fixing them. 

    • Increased Efficiency: Less time spent correcting mistakes translates to a smoother and more efficient user experience. 

    • Improved Accuracy: Error prevention helps ensure users enter the correct information, leading to more accurate data within the system. 

What is card sorting?

• Powerful method to understand how users group and categorize information.
• It helps determine an organization scheme that aligns with user' mental models. 
• This technique informs the the design of navigation menus website or app architecture, and content strategy
• Entails displaying users a collection of cards, each containing a piece of information like a page title, menu item, or product category. 

Types of card sorting?

• OPEN
• CLOSED
• HYBRID
• REMOTE

Open card sorting:

• Creating your own categories, which is ideally for a better understanding on how users' intuitively organize information. There is no predefined categories involved.

Fig 1: Open card sorting

Closed card sorting:

• Cards is sort into predefined categories which will be useful to test on specific groupings. These are ideal when the basic structured is already are place.

Fig 1.1: Closed card sorting

Hybrid card sorting:

• Blends both open and closed card sorting 

Fig 1.2: Hybrid card sorting

Remote card sorting:

• Using an online tools for convenience in sorting them and to reach a more diverse audience

Fig 1.3: Remote card sorting

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2. INTRODUCTION

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3. APP REMAKE / RE-DESIGN SLIDE

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3. REFLECTION

Throughout 4 weeks of learning application design, I learned to research and select important data as our re-designing plan. We were told to create a presentation slides on all information needed. This way, it will allow researcher a better understanding towards their next step in redesigning the app.