Lee Anna McGee's Archive

Areas of weakness:
One of the biggest struggles with this project was the conceptual aspect of this project. I didn’t really understand the direction or idea of it until last class. Perhaps in some ways this was more realistic as a client probably has no idea what they want so they strand along until nearly completion date but I dun’t know. In some ways this freedom with direction on this project helped in the end with time and completion. In other ways it made it more difficult with a starting point. So another weakness came from procrastinating. Waiting until the last few days with this project got me in some trouble with the other major projects going on and so  I feel as if my full focus and attention were lacking.
With waiting on this project, I still was able to finish it incredibly quickly in comparison so this could be taken as a sign of improvement. Perhaps the programs are just coming more naturally and I am just getting quicker. From the last app I created to this one, there was a huge time difference and a lot more ease. I didn’t have nearly as much trouble with sizing on this app. I had a lot of issues with the actual data on this project as well. Graphing has never been my expertise. So creating fake data and fake graphs for displaying information that is frankly disgusting (average being on iphone 5 hours a day?!) was a bit challenging. It made me feel like my brain is melting.
As far as this being the last project in this class, I feel totally comfortable with Photoshop and my ability to create an app and a full website. I have definitely been able to speed up my work on the program. I can spot more mistakes in size, colour, level, etc more quickly and efficiently. I still think there is much much much more to learn but I feel like I got a pretty good start. It would be great to take more interactive classes in the future.
When I signed up for this class it was honestly because I have been working on a website for a while now. Even though, we didn’t learn how to full on launch and load I think we learned something way cooler. Actually, I am way more pleased with what I have learned with everything else.

https://webfiles.acu.edu/users/lem08a/web/website1b/

wireframe

Infotastic

Youprint

Vivid Self

Graphitude

Infogram

Graph my Life

Instagraph

1. Generate an info graphic based on your (daily, weekly, monthly) use of your phone
2. Gather data from all uses of phone to generate infographic (ipod, call, message, email, social networks, safari, other apps)
3. Be able to set up info graphic layout, how often one is created (daily, weekly, etc)
4. Be able to check how you receive infographic (through app, email, alert, etc)
5. Has option to set up specifics i.e most listened to song(s), most common texting recipient , call, etc
6. Has option to only see infographic for specific (just about ipod or app use)
7. Be able to choose color scheme
8. Have the ability to share infographic through text, social network, etc

The biggest technical mistake I had to deal with was sizing and appropriate look and feel for an iphone app. I waited until almost the last minute to put the psd in on my phone to see how it would look and it slowed down a lot of things. Also, a lot of work I had created ended up being deleted due to sizing so it was really a time bomb. I felt like I was never able to see exactly how it would look on phone as it did on the computer so I had to keep stopping to upload a pic on my phone to double check. There a lot of small details I found at the end that needed to be corrected and fixed – like back buttons and menu options. The biggest difference between the app and website are those small details- on your comp. you have a constant browser allowing you to step back or jump forward or refresh and with the app you must create all of those features. I just need to try and remember to export earlier on in the process and have someone besides myself run through my task list with the app and see if they can get to all those pages and tasks smoothly and efficiently and with no frustration.
One improvement although not a requirement of this specific project was that I actually completed all 35 sketches. Even though it was not part of the assignment it helped quite a bit. It was definitely easier to get started and reminded me of all the details I wanted to put into the app. It also helped me cut out a lot of unnecessary items.
Throughout the process I was able to see improvements with sizing of texts and pictures and buttons- I am starting to grasp the idea of hiearchy. I think it  is a little different when creating an app as one can always zoom in on their phone but still- hopefully there will be no need too. I am trying to pay more attention to negative space- awkward spaces and trying to make them look intended and clean.
I still need to work on keeping up with all due dates as it will help the overall project go way smoother and not create as many late nights (hopefully).