Review #3

When designing a website is it key to have clear, simple, and consistent navigation. The user looks for tabs and navigation the way one uses the hanging signs in a grocery or hardware store to find their way to what they are searching for. The more obvious the signs are the better. The ability to easily navigate ones way through a website will hold regard to how successful it is. From a designers point of view you want to avoid frustrating the user, once frustrated you have lost them and there for your site serves them no purpose. The use of balance, unity, emphasis and a good layout are key elements to create a successful website. Two sites I examined for use of these elements were Burgatoybar.com and Frantoary.com. Both sites exemplified use of these elements however I found Burgatory’s site to be more functional then Franktuary’s site.

Burgatory’s site being the more successful of the two is where we will start. The site its self is very interactive and has a lot of information displayed in a very organized and easy to navigate arrangement. The fundamental rule to follow is to have repetition with the site ID on every page the site may take you. This should remain consistent with the navigation. Both the Burgatory logo and site ID within the navigation function as home buttons and also remain stationary through out the sites navigation. The logo is set in the upper left hand corner and the navigation opposite of that. There is the use of balance and unity. They also both act as a means to get back to the home page, which is very critical if the user begins to feel lost. When exploring the navigation bar, first you have five initial tabs, taking you to their menu, products and other obvious reason you might by at the site. The most complicated the site navigation bar gets is the ten secondary links under the “hungry” tab, which take you to each section of their menu. The user may get stuck inside the menus tabs but not lost, never once will they think they are at a new page or not know how to move forward on the site. All elements mentioned are utilized in this site, balance, unity, emphases and a good layout. Which awards it the more successful. Now lets look at why Franktuary’s website and why it was not as successful in it execution of design.

Frantuary’s site is quite simple at first glance, I would argue that Burgatoy’s site is a bit more to take in but it is still much easier to navigate. At first glance, you notice the navigation bar that is placed obviously at the top of the page with the Frantuary logo right bellow. Both are thoughtfully placed and also functional. There is a sense of balance since both are conveniently placed at the top of the page where the eye tends to lazily rest itself. However once a location is chosen a second navigation bar is displayed in the body of the content. Which can cause confusion with the user. I feel it offers more distracting purpose then functional, something I would personally leave out. The second aspect I found to be misleading and confusing was the photo page. Once the viewer had checked out all previous tabs they are now at the photo tab. Once this tab is selected they are presented thumbnail pictures of dishes Frantuary offers. On one occasion of one of these thumbnail images being selected, it takes the user to their instagram page. This is where the user can get lost and move on. So much for the prospective diner booking a reservation they are now at Burgatory’s site buying a gift card. The only redeeming quality of this site to over come this is that fact that has a search bar. The “all mighty” search bar is a key element which allows the user the power to take the site where they want to go with out any noise.

After reading the assigned section, I can see how both sites unitize the fundamentals of successful navigation. I personally feel that Burgatory executed their layout in a much more efficient manor with a lot more information.

Such Little Effort by Brandon Kreiser

In the book  “Don’t Make Me Think” Steve Krug discusses the principles of web page navigation really nicely.  He goes on to compare the process of navigating a web page to navigating through a store. While browsing any number of web sites I’ve never stopped and realized how similar the two processes are. When shopping the consumer uses signs to find the right department, isle, and product. A well constructed web page operates in much the same way. I recently reviewed and compared two sites: bravofranco.com and no9park.com. These two web pages are very nicely designed as they are both easy to use. I personally liked the no9park.com site more than bravofranco.com for a number of reasons.

Firstly when entering a web page it is key for the homepage to snag the user and keep them from leaving. If the homepage suffers in functionality or ease-of-use the user will quickly hit the back button. Bravofranco.com’s homepage lacked in its visual appearance due to the poor photos that are right in the middle of the homepage. The site has three large, tacky, and poorly light photos that give the user a sense of the restaurants informality and a lack of self respect. Other than having poor photo elements, the site is nicely balanced and all pages are brought together nicely. The pages are all properly tagged and framed to avoid user confusion. The pages emphasis on the page also left a lot to be desired. I didn’t get a good sense of where the homepage was trying to direct me. Should I check out the menu, or click on the directions button?

No9park.com is my favorite site because of how simple it is for me to navigate through the sites pages. The navigation bar on the right side gives me a firm idea of where I am located within the site. The web page also has a very nice visual element, the photos and graphic design is sleek and professional. Photos of the food looks elegant and intriguing, making the user want more eye candy. Information about the restaurant is well organized and easy to access. The site has complete unity as the side navigation bar locks all the pages together. This site simply has a very nice and easy to use layout. The reason I feel that no9park.com is nicer than bravofranco.com is due to how little thinking I had to do while using the site. It felt like an effortless experience to me, which will bring me back to the site.

Alec Balenciaga Review 3

I decided to choose Bravo Franco Ristorante and Six Penn Kitchen for this review.  I thought that the top bar navigation on both sites were extremely similar and I liked both of them.  The nav bars incorporated both their logos and and offer everything I knew I was looking for.  I also liked that Six Penn Kitchen had a sub nav bar once you clicked menu.  Bravo Franco Ristorante had two separate pages for their lunch and dinner menus.  I liked that Six Penn showed you what menu you were on and didn’t take away the option of going to different menus on the second nav bar.  Bravo Franco took you to only one menu then you had to scroll the whole way down to bottom of the page to pick other menu types.

I liked the background image on Bravo Franco’s page and the white container that held all the information.  The red and black text on white stood out and I didn’t really struggle to read them.  I would have liked to see the menu items be centered on the page because it looks like there is a lot of open space to the right of all the text.  With Six Penn all text is center and uses the space of the page very well.  The dotted likes work to break up the sections of the specific menus.

I feel like Six Penn’s website is better than Bravo Franco’s because Six Penn is just a more visual site.  The sites are very similar in what they offer on the nav bar and effectiveness of finding what I need.  Bravo Franco’s lacks on the simplistic look of the page.  Bravo Franco has a very text heavy website where as Six Penn uses more pictures effectively.  They show their interior and exterior to their advantage as well as having galleries so that you can see and understand the atmosphere there.  Bravo Franco’s style is just not up to par with Six Penn in utilizing images and their well balanced division of their page.  I think that although content is pretty similar, Six Penn has the edgy due to style and organization of their contant

Restaurant Site Reviews

For my review of restaurant sites, I chose to look at Six Penn Kitchen and Kyoshi Bistro. At first glance, both of these sites look clean and have a neutral, non-distracting background behind the content. To start, Six Penn Kitchen is a very crisp site. Everything is balanced, clean, and ordered. Everything is contained within the confines of the banner across the top, and the navigation is continuous throughout the site. Emphasis is used through the use of important items being placed in the navigation bar or having a bright green color for the image to pull attention to these items. The site is very unified through the color schemes, and works well through the continuous navigation bar. Overall, the layout of the site is effective, and all the elements I would like to see, from the navigation, to the menu, even to reservations is included online. I also really like that they have galleries of the different food items and other important info.

 

For Kyoshi, The site is much simpler, and the layout is not as visually pleasing. As I can remember, the site was actually a bit different the last time I was on, which makes me think they are going through changes, although it would be more effective to push a new site after the updates are finished. For this site, the layout is a bit sloppy, and not very interesting. The first thing that I notice is that the size of the page changes for each tab. The navigation stays throughout, and there are always images that are found at the top of the page, but the balance of the site is not there, at least for the home page.  The page is very heavy on the left, with hours and other information on the right, but all of the other pages are centered and balanced better. Unity is also a bit off, as the background color changes throughout, and the color scheme is a bit too wide. The site uses pink as an emphasis color, but it is a bit too much and does not work great overall. As a whole, I feel that the layout of the site is not up to par.

 

In total, both sites have some basic principles that are important for sites. As Krug states, navigation is a big part of a site, as we need to be able to get to the pages we need. Both sites follow navigation, and make it easy to be able to navigate the pages. Both sites have page names that change based on the page you’re on, and also identify the restaurant. Neither site has a search option, which is not very important for a restaurant, and also do not have bread crumbs to show where you have been because there is no need to go multiple pages in. The navigation bar cuts down on the issue and allows the user to get to any page needed through the page already being viewed. Overall, the Six Penn Kitchen is a stronger site, and works as a whole much better than Kyoshi, but Kyoshi also has really strong elements that could be fixed and worked better. The pictures used for Six Penn Kitchen as well as the colors and the overall layout are more effective and more captivating than Kyoshi.

Review #3 : Bravo and Panera

The two local restaurants being compared are Bravo and Panera. When first entering Bravo’s website, it is noted that the color of their website is easy on the eyes and not too dark or too light. The links at the top of the page are straight forward and easy to navigate and find anything. Bravo’s number and location is easily seen at the top of the page, with the hours at the bottom of the page so that users don’t have to do extra clicking to find out. Bravo’s front main page doesn’t contain a lot of wording and is spacious instead of cluttered like most other websites. Their page is organized, doesn’t have a large amount of useless text, and doesn’t require myself to do extra thinking in order to find information.

Panera’s main front page is also easy on the eyes in terms of color and contrast, using earthly tones like Bravo does. Their links have a drop down box that expands to more links that fit into the category of the main link. Their website requires thinking when finding certain information. For example, I tried to look up their hours but I still have yet to see a link for it on their front page. I had to place my mouse on locations at the top of the page, type in my zip code, and then it shows a list of stores, their distance, hours, and more information. This is a great feature, but some users may feel they have to think more in order to figure it out. Panera has a good amount of wording on their main page, with appetizing images of their food and links to important information that users may want to know about.

Between Bravo’s website and Panera’s website, Bravo’s website was easier to navigate and easier to find information for. Bravo’s website is clean, organized, not cluttered and overwhelming, and it is visually appealing to my eyes.

Review 3

The two websites I chose to use were the No. 9 Park and Bravo Franco Ristorante. What I noticed first about both sites were the photographs shown on the homepage that provide the user with a certain vibe about the restaurant; such as an elegant dining experience or a formal, very professional setting to it. However, when dealing with these photographs I feel that the No.9 Park site is more successful in their use of imagery due to the quality of the photos, along with the changing slideshow of the food, as well as chefs, and the dining place settings; whereas the Bravo Franco site gives only three different photos which do not give the viewer that good of a variation. As for the layout stylistic choices, I feel that the sections for each site are both listed in an organized way. But if I would have to choose one that is more legible, it would have to be the Bravo Franco layout because, unlike No. 9 Park, their sections are listed at the top of the webpage (where most are on most websites) and I personally feel that it is much easier to read across than vertically, especially if a title of the section is too long to fit on one line, such as “Monthly Cocktail Classes.” When looking at unity throughout each webpage, I think that Bravo Franco appears to be much stronger and I feel that it strongly relies on the color scheme chosen. The colors are really consistent throughout the different pages of the site and it even shows within their pictures too. The colors of a deep brown and a beige/tan are used, accompanied by white, are visible all over the pages. With this strong contrast, it allows all text to be very legible. Another thing I noted about the text was that here it is at a much larger size and with a nicer font than that of No. 9 Park. On each page for each of the sections on No.9 Park, the text is very small and in a standard font, and it is also used for the section titles which make the look of it seem a little plain and simple. However, plain and simple doesn’t have to be a bad thing. One thing that brought out some emphasis to each page on the Bravo Franco site was that each page has a quote from a worker or customer on the side about the food or their dining experience which in-turn make the atmosphere more personal and friendly. Overall, I think that both websites have their pros and cons, but if I had to choose one that was more effective, it would have to be Bravo Franco due to their legibility, personalization, and styles/theme throughout the pages provided.

Review #3

Due to their contrasting styles I chose to write my review 3 on Burgatory and Bravo Franco’s.

The first site I looked at was Buratory’s site. When I first saw it my reaction was that of a very playful less serious company. I get this impression because of the layout of the page and playful working. While it is very balanced using what looks to be a three- four column system. The content is not symmetrically balanced, as I would see in Franco’s (a more up scale restaurant). But it uses this to its advantage drawing some attention away from the over whelming content rich left side to the more minimalistic right side. This right side contains information such as milk shake menu, Helluva burger, and the log which is a portal to the home page. The unity of the page is mostly in the colors and textures used on the page. The perfect accents of red mixed with earth tones are used perfectly to make some parts stand out while letting others slip into the background. As stated in the “Don’t make me think book” they use different size fonts to form a hierarchy of information. More important information is larger while less important information is generally towards the bottom and smaller.

The second site I looked at was Bravo Franco’s which looked to be a very clean site with everything lining up in it three column block style site. Side from the pictures the site only uses about 3 colors, which I think, add to the unity of the site. It is a very symmetrically balanced site with nothing that might draw your eye away from the important information. Similar to the Burgatory site it also has a hierarchy of text sized with their company name front and center and in large font, which stands out clearly. The site also has a lot of containers; at no point other than the phone number and the address at the top leave the confinements of the box which most of the information lives.

Both of these sites have very good navigation system. Everything is laid out for easy of use and maximum utility. Each has a well thought out nav bar at the top or on the side of the content. Though I think the Bravo Franco’s nav system is less convoluted and to the point( partly because of the wording). Each also has clear indicators on what can be or cant be selected for more information. Lastly each has a home button that make navigating the site a pleasurable experience. At no time was I frustrated or confused where to go. Each site has its pros and cons but over all I think both site are well designed in their respective styles.

Review #3 Six Penn Kitchen & Butcher And The Rye

Six Penn:

From the homepage the website features a single columned, multiple row layout centered beneath a directory banner which holds links to the key pages of the site, along with the name of the restaurant in the center, and their logo on the far left side, both of which function as links back to the homepage. The first link is for their “Menus”, which like all the links when clicked turns green in order to let the user know where they’re at on the site; beneath the banner is a list of their different menus (starting off on their more sought after, dinner) which like the banner above is centered on the page and remains highlighted to let one know what they’re looking at. Beneath the subdirectory are the hours that each menu is served, so there’s no confusion as to when the restaurant switches over to the next meal, and a stacked list of all the available options, organized by each course. The site continues to keep the same clean format of keeping each section neatly organized and centered beneath the top banner, subtlety keeping track of the location by highlighting the section, without any confusion of what each link will bring. It’s very straightforward, and easy to navigate, making it easy to find all the information you could want to know about the establishment in just a few clicks.

 

Butcher and the Rye:

The website for the Butcher And The Rye restaurant is a single paged site stylized in a very contemporary and rustic single column fashion. The top of the page reads as a billboard for the site, listing the different sections that the page will cover; however, when you scroll over the different listings they turn red, signaling a link which takes you down to that section to avoid the massive amount of scrolling it would take to reach the bottom, and engaging an overhead directory which will take the user to each section to continue to make the page faster and easier to navigate. Though if one did choose to scroll down the whole page they’d be treated to a variety of bold type treatments telling what the restaurant has to offer, such as the enormous variety of bourbon they have stocked, and an illustrated chart of all the different beefs one could have, all which act as a header for the section right below it. The site is simple and transitions well from one part to another, keeping itself contained amongst each frame. Though there isn’t any color indicator in the header to keep one sure of where they’re at, each section is boldly labeled and accompanied by a complimenting image which easily tells where one’s at, unless they’re completely ignorant to the design.

 

Most Effective:

While each site is simple and straightforward to use, it’s felt that the website for Six Penn Kitchen is more effective. Though it features more pages, and less graphic elements which embellish the atmosphere of the restaurant it has a better sense of contrast and placement that keeps the user sure of where they’re at and where they’re going. The color scheme for the Butcher And The Rye is consisted of a nearly black background with gray type over, which though sets a mood, is also difficult to read in some places. Though it’s easy to discover, it’s not obvious that the listings in the top header are actually links to the different sections, and they aren’t organized in the same way that they are on the rest of the page, or the header that appears after it’s out of sight. Even though it’s a simple graphic organizer meant for quick navigation for the site, it’s a tad peeving that things aren’t listed in the right order. The site for Six Penn is right to the point, what you click is what you get without the feeling that you’re skipping over something that you might have wanted to see first. All of the headings and important information are highlighted in green and bolded if not bigger than the accompanying text, which helps pops out for the dark gray background for quick and painless navigation through each page.

Review 3

The two sites I choose to compare were Bravo Franco and Six Penn Kitchen. I think many people will agree with me when I say that Six Penn Kitchen was a really bad website example. Their use of layout felt empty and yet cluttered. The didn’t use the entire space for the layout of the menu. It kind of looks like they clumped everything together. Bravo Franco’s layout was well designed due to their usage of space and how content was set up compared to where on the menu, the pictures were placed. I didn’t really like the colors used in Six Penn Kitchen. The black, gray, and lime green really didn’t work with grabbing the viewer’s attention. The menu itself felt dark and the text was hard to read because it was small and some of the text was lime green placed on a black background. Those two colors do not mesh well together and I would highly recommend choosing different colors. Bravo Franco colors felt really uplifting. They were of lighter colors and the text was a readable size. The menu itself has a sense of harmony to it and you can feel that everything is unified because the entire menu has a sense of elegance to it. The colors mesh well together. The pictures are appealing. In my opinion, I would say, Bravo Franco’s website was just more visual appealing. And being as though this website is for a restaurant, visual appeal should have been the main focus when creating the website itself. The website for restaurants reflect how the food would look and how the place itself would look. It’s the complete opposite with Six Penn Kitchen. Six Penn Kitchen itself feels unbalanced because it’s completely clumped together and then it just has negative space out on the sides. Six Penn Kitchen lacked visual appeal and harmony.

Review #3

So the two sites that I took upon to visit were Bravo Franco Ristorante and Six Penn Kitchen. For starters both sites are in balance with their image placement and alignment of the navigation menus. One thing taken from Six Penn Kitchen that I noticed was very similar to Bravo Franco Ristorante is the layout of the front page. They are keen on showcasing their dishes, preferably the most favorite by chef or consumer, and they both have similar styles of dining fashion placed from the imagery. Krug states in “Don’t Make Me Think” that putting more into the page to make a page shorter helps with people being able to see all the content without having to scroll anywhere.

The nature of Six Penn Kitchen is more simplistic, with very little text placed on the front page, making the consumers seek for more if they are interested in trying out the restaurant. It seems that this is a tactic placed more on Six Penn Kitchen’s page than it would be on Bravo Franco Ristorante’s page. Bravo Franco’s is more inclined to place text about the hours they are open, what they are all about with the food, and their events all at the bottom in a short paragraph throughout page switches. What Bravo Franco Ristorante’s page and Six Penn Kitchen’s page does is also stated in Krug’s five things about helping the user with using the interface with less noise level. Both seem to accomplish that aspect of being able to read and use the navigation controls, text, etc. all in the first page. Six Penn Kitchen’s page is with little to no text so you are basically using the navigation bar up top to scrounge through the info on their tabs placed at the top pages. Bravo’s is identical in the same style where using the nav. bars and tabs up top will help with showcasing their information about the place.

Something about Six Penn Kitchen’s page caught my attention based on their usage of less info, but more stylized image placement on the page. Their layout seems to grasp at placing their great food, what they have accomplished, and what they feature their in one simple task from placing them in a contained layout format. They’ve basically unified the home page as a simplistic one phrase way of describing their restaurant, because they feel less is more helps with bringing in new costumers.

Extra Credit Post_AWolfe

Write a 500 word review of an app or widget you use regularly. Reviews must be written in the 3rd person using professional language and discuss the usability, functionality, interface, design and aesthetics. Further, create a process flow diagram for that app or widget and persona for three users that would also interact with it regularly. (p.44-54 and p.66-71).

A popular application that is used by many smart phone users is Facebook with 86.1 million users (http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/popular-apps-chart/).  Facebook allows users to connect with friends and family seamlessly through their smartphone and other electronic devices.  Users of this application are able to private message an individual or a group of people, post statuses that include and are not limited to photographs, updates, locations and more.  Users can use this application to play games, share events, and customize the information that is scene on their profile pages.  The overall design of the Facebook application changes slightly each two to four weeks to help improve the website and application for the users to have a pleasant experience.  The design of the application and website gives the users easy access and a continuous flow between various parts of the application and website.  As far as the aesthetics for Facebook, it follows a simple color scheme that uses only blue and white with black text for the design of the website.  Users are not able to customize the profile pages with different backgrounds and color schemes like that of MySpace and Twitter do.

Users who use this varies between ages 12 and over.  Facebook is meant to be used by anyone and everyone in order to connect them to those they are friends with and to the world around them.  User A is a 16 year old high school student who uses Facebook to connect with her friends and family.  She uses the application to post pictures of her with her friends and statuses about her day-to-day life.  User B is a 32 year old who works for a top accounting firm in Pittsburgh and uses the application to see what his friends are doing during the day when he works.  He doesn’t post many statuses and pictures but had some photographs of his three kids and wife.  User C is a 57 year old female who is about to see her oldest child get married.  She posts statues and photographs of her daughter and son-in-law in engagement photos and photographs of family events.  She also uses the application to snoop on friends and family and see what they are up too, private messaging her friends often to keep up with them.  Each user uses the application in similar ways but some only use certain parts of the application because they feel it is to much information.  The younger user use the application on smart phones and other electronics because they can understand the concept of those devices while the older uses only use it through computers and not to the fullest potential of the application.

Most users use the application differently, teenagers tend to put to much information out there and parents with younger children.  This becomes interesting to see how different people and generations use the application whether it is because of understanding it or lack of understanding it.

 

 

Interaction Design Chapters 1 & 2 – Madison Kozlowsk

What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?

            According to the text by Jon Kolko, interaction design is defined as, “a creative process focused on people”. Further, a group at Carnegie Mellon University has created a formal framework for discovery during the design process. The process includes Define, Discover, Synthesize, Construct, Refine and Reflect components. A designer must first understand wants and needs and balance political requirements with the end user while also achieving business goals. Otherwise known as defining. Discovery allows a designer to gather data related to the given problem and understand who ultimately will use the creation. Both of these steps must be completed in order to move onward with your design, and also the structured process. Synthesize, Construct, and Refine fall next. These phases often get grouped together because of their similar nature and total time consumption. These steps include sketching ideas, creating personas and scenarios, mapping ideas to solve problems, testing prototypes among other things. Designers must work through creation and refinement over and over again during this time in attempt to extract the wrong ideas from their work and decide on a particular solution. The final step in this framework is Reflection, or the act of assessing success or failure. Regardless of the guidelines put in place, Interaction design is based on people and it is essential for designers to realize that. There are a lot of challenges being an interaction designer. In most companies, interaction designers are not involved in the beginning stages of product development at all. This type of work is left to business people who make decisions based solely on increasing profits or building brand equity. More collaboration should be established between designers and upper management. Another challenge that interaction designers face is the regulated funds they are allocated. The best elements of functionality may be costly to implement. When this is the case, designers become advocates for usability and attempt to convince superiors that it is worth the extra money to be user-friendlier. Interaction design may be difficult to grasp and implement, but creating a more user-oriented world is in the works.

What is interaction design, how it’s evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?

Just like many other aspects of the world are evolving, interaction design is no exception. A concept that correlates with interaction design very well is the idea of progressive learning. In order to be a successful interaction designer, one must be willing to learn new things everyday. For example, an accountant can get his degree in Accounting and thirty years later complete the same tasks without learning anything new. Opposite goes for interaction designers. Their job is evolving as the world’s like/dislikes and trends change. Interaction designers must change gathered information into meaningful data and incorporate that into their work. Interaction designers must also design for errors. When something is developed, every interaction with that product will not be the same and errors will occur. Errors related to the product itself and errors made by the user. Interaction designers must think deeply about the types of errors that could occur and effectively design for them.

Interaction Design draws knowledge from a few different fields. Some of the main fields of study this relates to are Psychology and Sociology. Both of these relate to human behavior. Psychology looks into the minds of humans and at their physical behavior and Sociology looks at humans social behavior. Interaction design deals a lot with its users and in-depth knowledge of humans could be very useful. Obviously basic knowledge of Design is very pertinent to this field of study as well.

App Review: ANY.DO

Any.Do is a to-do list management app that provides a simple, intuitive way to organize tasks. At the core of Any.Do is the principle of helping the user get things done. Tasks are organized into time-based and type-based categories. The time categories are divided into “Today,” “Tomorrow,” “Upcoming,” and “Someday,”  whereas type categories can be anything, such as “personal,” “classwork,” etc. Tasks can further be given notes, subtasks, and dates and designated as important.

The user’s tasks will sync across devices, and Any.Do offers a web application, Chrome extension, Android and iOS apps, and desktop clients. This review will focus on the Android app.

The user will spend almost all of his or her time on the app’s main screen: the task list. Here, the user sees all future tasks organized vertically in the categorization scheme of choice. Tasks can be moved between categories by pressing and holding them and then dragging up or down. Tapping a task expands it, revealing access to notes, categories, subtasks, sharing, and more. Tasks can be added using a field at the top of the screen or plus signs next to each category header, and as a task is added, Any.Do will make auto-complete suggestions on the entry. Completed tasks can be checked off simply by crossing them off with one’s finger, and all the checked-off tasks can be removed from the list by shaking the phone. The bottom of the screen features a toolbar providing access to settings, notfications, and the Any.Do Moment, a more in-depth scheduling tool which provides a run-down of the day’s tasks and lets the user state when he or she plans on getting the item done. The settings menu includes a variety of profile controls, list management options, theming tools, preferences, and access to completed tasks.

Aesthetically, the app uses an elegant sans-serif font throughout, and the user can set a number of themes. The primary theme (also used in the web app) is white with black text and blue highlights, while the secondary theme is black with white text and grey highlights. Important tasks are red in both. Icons are used wherever possible to denote features in minimal space. The heavy use of icons is confusing at first, as many are non-obvious and small, but after using the app for a while, the user will become familiar with the available features.

Overall, the basic features of Any.Do are intuitive and easy to use. Adding, completing, and organizing tasks works in a way that feels right. The visual design is minimalist and pleasing to the eye and is mirrored across all platforms. The editing icons take time to get used to and may be the least intuitive part of the app. Any.Do’s design philosophy has the concept of “getting stuff done” at its core: tasks are always center stage, starting with today. Everything that is not related to crossing off tasks is either hidden or simplified. To the user looking for a powerful but intuitive task management system focused on accomplishing things, Any.Do is a great choice.

 

Process Flow Diagram

Personas

Todd
Occupation: Businessman

“The task-sharing feature helps me keep my team on task. Being able to see each others’ tasks, progress on sub-tasks, and notes keeps everyone on the same page.”
 

Kate
Occupation: Mother

“With three kids, there are so many activities to do. The ability to categorize tasks by lists or time and set reminders helps me keep track of everyone’s activities.”

 

Drew
Occupation: Student

“Between classes and clubs and hanging out with friends, any activity I don’t write down immediately gets forgotten. Because Any.Do syncs accross my phone, tablet, and laptop, I’m always able to copy down my homework, and I don’t forget anything.”

 

Update
Any.Do pushed out version 3 recently, which features much clearer buttons and a nicer menu system letting you sort by date and category simultaneously.

Mobile App Review

A fairly new app that I use on a daily basis is Snapchat. At first the concept of communicating with only with pictures was a little but odd, but the idea became extremely popular very quickly. The application allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings and send them to a controlled list of recipients. The sender can also regulate the amount of time a recipient can view the “snap” before the content is deleted. Users can also view Snapchat stories, or a group of snapchats played as a video for a predetermined amount of seconds. The app has evolved since its conception in 2011 and both positive and negative features have been added since then, which I will be reviewing.

The general idea of the Snapchat app is great. The “selfie” has been increasing in popularity among all ages, not just the millennials, and people were already sending pictures of themselves via text messages pre-Snapchat. By introducing an app where an infinite amount of selfies could be sent to an infinite amount of people in a day, Snapchat made sending pictures much easier. To become the app of choice to send selfies, it was crucial that a text feature was added. It has become normal to hold entire conversations via Snapchat. I think a drawback of conversing over Snapchat is the character limit put in place. Users are only permitted to enter as much text in the horizontal space the screen can hold. In fact, people have gone great lengths to attempt to increase the amount of text allowed in a Snapchat by using the voice-recording feature on smartphones. This alone should signal to Snapchat that they are not accommodating the users wants.

Another feature of Snapchat is the drawing tool. The drawing tool offers a colorful selection and enables people to use their imaginations with their finger as a paintbrush. This feature has enabled users to draw simple things like arrows and faces, but has inspired some extremely creative works as well. However, as much as this feature has been used for creative purposes, people often use it to continue their sentences due to the character limit. Snapchat has updated the app and since created a messaging feature through the app itself. In my opinion, this feature has been adopted as well as Snapchat may have wished. Many users see no difference in messaging through the app or texting on their mobile devices. Even though users have signaled a need for more text, this addition is not exactly what the user wanted. To satisfy the users, I would like to see the amount of text allowed on a snap to be extended to two lines across the screen.

An aspect of Snapchat that has become increasingly popular is the Snapchat story. Like mentioned above, users can combine a sequence of snaps to display to their friends for 24 hours. This has increased the ability for individuals to share their content. Instead of personally selecting every friend, a user can simply select the “My Story” button, and that content appears for their friends to watch instantly. Social Media is currently thriving and by allowing people to have continuous content, this app has become another source of social media.

As popular as Snapchat has become, there is room for improvement. I think that a group Snapchat message would be very beneficial. If someone wants to send a snap to a number of people, they have to scroll through all of their friends and individually select each one. Users should be able to create groups and select only one folder and send to as many people as they desire. For example, many people in my family have Snapchat and instead of going down my long list of friends, I would like to be able to add them to a folder entitled “Family” and simply select the folder and know which individuals the snap will go to. I think many individuals would utilize this feature and I am surprised that Snapchat has not made an update with this addition.

Overall, Snapchat is a new phenomenon that matches societies wants in an app. With selfies booming popularity and constant communication a must, Snapchat has had perfect timing. The app is always updating and I am interested in seeing what features are added and what new ideas come about.