‘This weeks theme (and your fifth theme of seven) is V O I C E‘

-Stuart Lilford

:: Research ::

This weeks theme sparked many more ideas than last weeks (chindogu). As such I had a few different ideas for the theme before deciding on a specific one which particularly interested me. I wondered if I could create a book page scanner, or document scanner which would take a picture of a page of information and give you an audio file of that text.

The problem with this idea was legality, as I don’t this, I would theoretically be able to take the prototype into production. I know that we don’t have to do that for these, but I would like my prototypes to be able to be produced should I choose to.

I ended up deciding to create a kind of historical audible app, which would allow you to see historically important sights around your location and tell you the history of those interest points as you walk toward them. I liked this idea as it was something I could see myself using as I walk my dogs.

:: Idea Development ::

Firstly I needed a map of the point of interest in the UK. However this proved to be a problem as they all seemed to be branded to a specific organisation such as the English heritage museum (Ref.1). This meant that you only had the sights they curated marked on the map. I ended up deciding to use a plain map and add my own points of interest for my local village. Notably the gallows (Ref.2) and St. Mary’s church (Ref.3).

• 

• 

• 

I chose these two sights as they both had write ups on the webpage Britain Express.com (Ross,D. n.d.). Which I could use for my description text in the prototype. Obviously this would need to be changed to my own write up if I were to actually produce the prototype but just as a proof of concept the short descriptions provided would work perfectly.

:: Production ::

As usual my first step was to create the homepage (Fig.1). I did this in photoshop, and I used the aspect ratio of my mobile phone as this app was designed to be used while walking. I then needed to add the screens which would allow the user to say the phrase ‘Show me what’s in 30 minutes walking distance’ (Fig.2). This was important as I wanted as much of the app to be controllable via voice as possible.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I thought it would be nice if the app would show you a distance circle based on the average speed of whatever transport the user is asking for as well as others such as bicycle and cars (Fig.4). I also thought it would be nice if the user could set a longer time frame via touch in case they decide to go on a longer or shorter walk then they originally asked for.

The user can then see points of interest within their walking distance and can select any that take their fancy (Fig.5). from there they get a description page which they can either read or have spoken to them as they walk (Fig.6). the app would also then show them how they can walk to their destination.

:: Video ::

:: Feedback ::

– My Thoughts –

There are a fair few things that would need to be explained to a designer if I were to take this prototype into production, as some things are not clear just by going through the app demonstration. I wanted the recorded description to play over the top of the app like audible or spotify does on a phone. But then switch off with the tap of an icon, this wasn’t something I could properly implement in XD and so just had to describe in my video.

It’s also likely that as with my other prototype where I haven’t used a UI Kit I could spend longer polishing the look of the app. I did search for a nice UI Kit however was unable to find one that fit in the theme. The stock library of kits is very limiting and if I were to further develop this I would look into UI kits from outside the adobe stock library.

– Chris’s Comments –

Chris’s comments were entirely positive this week, which was nice, but did mean I didn’t have anything I could develop further through his feedback. He liked my idea and largely agreed  with Stuart’s thoughts of adding some community element to the app.

– Stuart’s Comments –

Stuart also liked my idea, seeing a practicality to it as a dog walker such as myself. He did have a great idea where I could implement community elements into the app, such as allowing users to add write ups of walks they have gone on. This would allow for new points of interest to be constantly added and would give the app a longer life for the user.

There would obviously need to be a lot of quality assurance and proofreading when allowing non vetted additions. As you run the risk of inappropriate write up and recordings but at a prototype level I feel like this would really help flesh out the app further and would give a longer lifespan to the app.

:: References ::

Burnett,P (2005) [Online Photograph]. (geography.org). Available online: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6470 [Accessed 29/03/2022]

Croft,R (2013) [Online Photograph]. Theasby, N (Copyright Holder). (geography.org). Available online: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5295035 [Accessed 29/03/2022]

English Heritage.co.uk [Online Image]. Available online: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/visit/places-to-visit/map.png?w=1440&mode=none&scale=downscale&quality=60&anchor=&WebsiteVersion=20211126150055 [Accessed 29/03/2022]

Ross,D (n.d.). ‘Barnetby le Wold, Lincolnshire’ [Online Article]. Available online: https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=2591 [Accessed 29/03/2022]