Project #1. App Idea.

There is no question about it, not only do acoustics effect our mood, the also change our memory of a place. The blaring of the ambulance siren constantly remind me that i am in Manhattan, but not Brooklyn to. Similarly the Hare Krishna music immediately summons the image of Union Square into my mind. For sure, my Union Square is different to yours or the lady sitting next to me in the subway. 

At a time when personal listening devices and tailored playlists are ubiquitous, it’s no surprise that we forget of how important sounds are. At the park, in the subway, waiting in line for coffee, we block the world with our own bubble of chosen acoustics. 

&sounds aim to archive the sounds that surround us when we take the time to emerge from this bubble. And in time, our memories of a place. You can record, listen and tag your own acoustics with a place. 

This is my thesis. I'm building a collective sound archive. 

NYC App Idea

My idea is to create a wellness gamification app for NYC teens. Every day, the teen would be offered three quests. The quests could be general things like, "eat a vegetable" or "don't drink any soda today." They could also be location based, such as "Visit the Union Sq farmer's market" or "walk the route shown on the map." The teen can accept one, two, or all three quests. They receive one star for each quest they complete by the end of the day. After completing a certain number of stars, the teen levels up and the quests get a bit harder

Linky links

1) Facebook Paper's gestural hell

"There's no doubt that Paper is a fresh and innovative take on content browsing. But while Paper may not ask much of us when we sign up to use the app — it asks a lot of us when it comes to the app's default interactions. So much so that the Paper's heaviest users might need to start popping arthritis medication in a few years."

Download Scott Hurff's Thumb Zone template here from Dropbox (Includes a Sketch file and a JPG).

2) Leading Designers At Square, Dropbox, And Flipboard On How To Land A Dream Job: Six mistakes designers make in interviews with startups, and how to avoid them

"The most important thing a designer submits in an application is their portfolio of work," says Kerksick of Change.org. "Oftentimes these portfolios show just the result, which doesn’t tell me much. Projects that challenge me with a problem; take me through the ugly, messy process; then inspire me with their solution--those are impressive."

3) 7 Lessons Learned From Interviewing 100+ App Developers

On the web, the more features a product has, the more robust and appealing it is to many of us. On the other hand, in the fragmented mobile space, it is better to have less features and do one thing really well.

My idea for the NYC app would be Best Place to find the Best Coffee near subway stops!

My name is Rachal and I'm a senior in Communication Design.

My current favorite app is Ultraweather, which is a weather app that displays current weather conditions and forecasts with beautiful photographs and clean typography. It describes the app as  'local weather forecast meets Instagram'.


iOS Human Interface Guidelines:

1) Take advantage of the whole screen:

2) Let color simplify the UI

3) Reconsider visual indicators of physicality and realism

Wireframe Sample

Here's a wireframe sample for you guys to look at.

And here's the presentation from last class.

Assignments for Feb 13

Some housekeeping:

1. Tag your posts! Blogger calls them Labels for whatever reason. The Labels button sits on the right side of the screen while you're writing a post. 
2. Please do NOT tag your posts with NextWeeksAssignments—I'll use that to tag assignments. 
3. Go into settings and make sure your username is your actual name, so that I can properly identify who is posting what. 
4. Titles for your posts wouldn't hurt either... 

Assignments for next week:

1. Post your app idea. Remember, it should be related to New York in one way or another. I'll provide you with some feedback and then you can move onto your wireframe and app map.

2. Create an app map and a wireframe for your app and post it to the blog for presentation in class next week. Everyone will get 5 minutes to present, and about 3 minutes of feedback. You'll be timed, so that everyone has a chance to present!