Application design Project 1: Application Redesign Proposal

20/04/26 - 15/05/26 (Week 1 - Week 4)

Choong Yee Leng || 0381980

Application design || Bachelor Degree in Creative Media || Taylor’s University 

Project 1: Application Redesign Proposal

Table of content

1. Instructions

2. Lectures

2. Application Redesign Proposal

3. Feedback

4. Reflection

Instructions

Lectures

Week 1

Usability: Usability is the measure of how effectively and efficiently a user can accomplish their goals when interacting with a product.

User-Centered Design 

1. Research:  gathering insights into their needs helps establish a solid understanding of the target audience and their specific requirements.
2. Design: creating wireframes, prototypes, and mockups that address the identified user needs.
3. Evaluation: Usability testing and user feedback help validate design decisions and identify areas for improvement

Benefits of User-Centered Design

• Increased User Satisfaction
• Improved Product Adoption
• Reduced Development Costs
• Enhanced Brand Reputation

Challenges of Mobile App Design

• Limited Screen Real Estate: Designers are required to prioritize content and interactions to ensure a clean, uncluttered user interface.
• Diverse Device Capabilities: Mobile applications must be designed to accommodate a wide range of device specifications, screen sizes, and input methods
• Contextual Awareness: Designers must consider factors like location, connectivity, and user mobility 

Designing for Small Screens

• Compact Layout
• Intuitive Navigation
• Tactile Interactions
• Visual Hierarchy

Week 2

User Centered Design: 

• A design philosophy that puts users at the forefront of the entire product development process.
• Discover- Define- Design- Validate- Develop
• Improve credibility: increase use satisfaction, trust in the system, no. of visit referral 
• Improve performance: decrease no. of user errors, increase ease of use, ease of learning
• Improve exposure: increase traffic/ audience size, return visitors, visit from search
• Reduce resource burden: reduce development time & cost, maintenance cost, redesign cost

User Experience Design: 

• focuses on the functionality, ensuring a smooth and functional interaction.
• UX focuses on the users' feelings and experiences rather than our own perceptions.

User Interface Design: 

• deals with the aesthetics, brings the user experience to life visually.

Users                                                 Us

What they want?                              What we think they want?

What they need?             >>>>>      What we think they need?

What is easy for them?                     What is easy for us?

Week 3

Usability: 

•  refers to the effectiveness, efficiency, and success of a user in utilizing a product or design within a specific context.
• Clarity and Learnability
• Efficiency and Goal Completion

Common Usability Pitfalls 

• Complex interfaces
• Confusing navigation
• Lack of Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
• Inadequate error handling

Key Principle of Usability

• Consistency :
• Creates a unified feel where all website elements (navigation, layout, branding) work together seamlessly.
• Avoids confusing users with unexpected changes in color schemes, navigation, or fonts.
• Simplicity
• Minimize the number of steps users need to take to complete tasks.
• Utilize familiar symbols and terminology that users readily understand. 
• Visibility
• appropriate visual hierarchy that guides users' attention towards the most important actions or content.
• direct users' focus on the elements that are most relevant in the current context.
• State Changes, Call to Action (CTA) Design, Well-placed icons, menus, and clear labelling
• Feedback
• Textual Messages: Providing clear and concise on-screen messages to inform users about the outcome of their actions or offer guidance on the next steps. 
• Visual Cues: Changing an icon colour (like your example), adding animations, or using progress bars to visually indicate success, failure, or ongoing processes.
• Sounds: Using audio cues like chimes or beeps to acknowledge actions or provide warnings.
• Haptic Feedback: On mobile devices with haptic technology, subtle vibrations can be used to confirm actions.
• Error Prevention
• Input Validation: Implement features that validate user input before actions are taken
• Clear Feedback: Provide clear and immediate feedback to users after any interaction. 
• Confirmation Steps:  gives users a chance to double-check their selections before finalizing the action.

Application Redesign Proposal 

Canva link: https://canva.link/3ynvg27olmqpc07

Moovit: Application design by yee leng

Feedback

Week 1: Project briefing

Week 2: 

• ads are important to maintain free apps operation, try to refer to other apps about the ad's organization
• it's easier to target only one problem statement user

Week 3: -

Week 4: 

• paid features can transform to free features if it importantly affects user experience

Reflection

This project required us to analyze apps in depth. It was my first time observing and evaluating an app from a designer’s perspective rather than only as a regular user. By understanding the factors that shape an app’s usability across the five usability aspects, I became more aware of what should be considered when designing a user-centered application.

Throughout the project, I deeply analyzed five different apps and gained a clearer understanding of what actually makes an app easier, more efficient, and more comfortable to use. Although the analysis process initially felt long and confusing, it gradually became smoother as I became more familiar with identifying what creates good user experiences and what causes discomfort or usability issues.

By the end of the project, after gathering and comparing all the findings, I realized that I was able to develop stronger and more practical design solutions compared to when I first started.