Morgan White

  This prototype was created collaboratively with two other design students for an open-ended app design assignment. GATHER is an app that encourages campus engagement among college-age students by creating a streamlined space to view and plan happenings among the student body.

       The first phase of this project began with information gathering. User personas, style tiles, and user journey maps were created to formulate potential user personalities and an overall style direction. Based on primary color variations, GATHER has a tidy, easy-to-navigate design. Four animal ‘mascots’ were created to represent the academic year each user is in. The logo mark created for GATHER showcases the main color palette and three figures with overhead speech bubbles. This shows the social aspect of the app, bringing people and events together.

       A login flow greets new users coming into the app, leading them to create a profile that will aid their recognition when joining new groups and calendars. The homepage features upcoming events with further information and an option to join the event. There are also notifications and a sorting feature to narrow down what events will be seen. The groups' pages allow the user to select a certain group and view the host, staff, and members, as well as events and updates. Other pages include a calendar, invitation flow, notifications, and profile. Miscellaneous pages include a help guide, 404 error page, loading overlay, side navigation, and character customization. 

       This assignment was a good transition after a website design assignment to see how the scale and interaction change on a much smaller screen. Without the option of hover functions, finding a way to bring emphasis to functions on a handheld device was a useful design skill to work on. It was also beneficial to get user testing results from other classmates to see what a potential user might feel needs tweaking or adding for a more functional app.