Kiera McC
PROJECTS
Personal Project at the Barcelona Code School
Through the discovery phase of the project, I focused on researching on the topics of issues dog owners have. Whether those issues were with their own dog or with other dogs. I looked at the issue of not having the correct facilities on offer in public places, the issues around regulations for dog friendly vs not dog friendly areas, and I delved into what makes a walk a success for different owners. I produced a survey which gave me great insight into the different lives and requirements different dog owners have for a successful walk with their dog. The survey highlighted that the majority of altercations occur through a lack of responsibility and respect for the rules of certain areas. The data produced, reflected that laws and regulations need to be enforced around dog ownership to create a positive dog community. I decided to complete a competitive analysis to understand what apps like mine, are currently on the market; PawParks is an app that shows dog parks around the location of the user, and BringFido is an app that provides the owner with dog friendly hotels, restaurants, activities and parks around the area they choose. I used the positive qualities from these apps, to help influence my app.
Within the definition phase of the app, I created two user personas to show the diversity my app aims to include. The first user persona is of a professional dog trainer who would love an app that highlights areas around him that suit his needs and show him real time statistics of people traffic in an area. The second persona is reflective of a stay-at-home mum who owns an overly friendly golden retriever. She would like an app to show her the rules and regulations of areas so she can walk safely with no altercations. After deciding what I wanted to achieve with my app - to show users more areas to visit that meet their needs and to create a positive, informative community of owners - I decided that the task for the interviews would be to log into the app, look at the menu and their profile, and complete a walk somewhere near them. I have linked the site map for the application, which shows the different parts of the app.
Please use this link to view the site map for Walk n' TalkI produced sketches for every screen of the application. I used my inspiration from google maps and the Glovo home page, to help produce my designs. These were then finalised and developed into grey-scale screens. Once the grey-scales were created, I developed a style guide to assist me in the visual aesthetics of my application. Through research and inspiration, I produced a style guide of which I felt promoted the voice and tone - helpful, natural, inclusive and friendly - intended for my app. I used this style guide to develop my prototype screens.
The prototype screens were developed from the style guide, sketches and grey-scales. After a lot of self aesthetic reviewing, I decided that the buttons were better when they were not in the original "bone" shape. I also developed the placement of colours in the app to make sure they were not a distraction to the user and the intended tasks were understandable and definite on the screens.
I took my prototype to the beach and the dog parks around the area, to gather some data on user testing. The prototype was received positively, and the users provided me with helpful insight and improvements to help develop and improve the app. Some of these improvements were: to include a "zoom in, zoom out" feature on the map / an "average time spent" in a location section, should be added in the information page / the logo needed to be removed from the map pages as it was distracting for the users. I took this insight and developed solutions for the application pages which proposed the largest issues for users.
In summary, I have seen that my app would be a helpful tool in building a safer, more educated community of dog owners, and in turn aids the problem of dogs and their owners being unable to find areas that accommodate their specific needs. Dog owners are given a multitude of options to suit their needs in order to make spending time with their dog all the more enjoyable and stress-free. Gaining respect and understanding for rules, regulations and the needs of others, will help make the dog community a more positive place. My app will help to achieve this, by providing the necessary knowledge and requirements of the areas before owners attend; bringing like-minded people together.