EZ-Dig
The Project Purpose
This app prototype was created for a User Experience class where we were to spend the entire semester learning about the development of apps. Students could make any app of their choice. Since I regularly find that my friends and other students want to have a better understanding of how to use Adobe software or they are asking me to teach them how to use various programs, I wanted to create an app that was somewhat like YouTube mixed with Facebook where users could learn how to use the adobe program of their choice and see what others were doing with what they learned. Moreover, when searching for tutorials they could be filtered by the program they were for, level of difficulty, and more.
The Creative Process
I started off with interviewing my friends and other students about what kinds of apps they used and what kinds of apps they wish existed. From there, I asked them about how they felt in regards to their experience using apps like Facebook and YouTube, with a focus on what they wish was available in terms of helping them find content and other information, such as tutorials in the case of YouTube. I then moved on to asking them what they might want to see from an app like mine, what programs they might use the most out of the ones available from Adobe, etc.
Then using that information I chose what programs and tutorials would be featured on the app. I chose the programs based on the information I had gained from surveying my friends and on research I did when looking into what the most commonly used Adobe applications are.
Using all of that information, I started designing the screens, namely the format of the video and step-by-step tutorials and the social functions of the app. I strongly based the designs off of those of YouTube and Facebook because they are well known for being straight-forward and easy to use.
From there I started prototyping the app with the required screens and features and did several rounds of user testing and surveys to get feedback on what users liked and what could be improved with it. As I gained valuable feedback from the user tests, I was able to fine tune the design on every level so that it is easy to use without being bland.
The End Result
The combination of my analysis of other apps, research, multiple interviews and rounds of user testing resulted in an app that is simple and easy to use while still being engaging and fun. Additionally, if it were fully developed, it would provide a profoundly useful and valuable service to many people that are new to digital art and/or Adobe products as well as veterans of such things.
