Initial Variations

- The two colour colour schemes, are supposed to make the app seem more educational and serious, whilst also trying to remain gender neutral specifically so with the use of orange and green. 

- Although this may appeal to parents, children may find the colour scheme boring which may eventually put them off using the app. 

- The colours are also extremley subdued and not vibrant as most other apps are. 

- Maybe vibrant colours work better as they are more engaging?

- Children may lose interest due to the colour scheme.

- The cursive handwriting typeface has been used, which sets an example of how to write, however one problem is that children may find it hard to read.

- However this typeface is used throughout schools, therefore they may be used to it and it gets them used to how each of the letters look and how they join together. 

- Using more vibrant colours, which may make it much more engaging and fun for children to play on , as the colour layout changes throughout the app, things are constantly changing. 

- Another typeface has been experimented with, which gives it a more modern look and means that the app may not put children off, it looks a lot more inviting and friendly, less educational. 

- Children may also find this typeface easier to read and understand. 

- The colour yellow is hard to read when the writing is over it, therefore below the colour has been changed to orange which is much easier to read. 

- This idea uses a mixture of the more subdued and two colour scheme, however rather than the cursive font, a sans serif typeface Circular Std has been used to try and incorporate the friendliness, but seriousness together. Therefore it may relate to both parents and children. 
- At the moment the changing, colours work best to attract the attention of children and engage them, however this isn't so much appropriate for parents, therefore maybe similar colours can be used on the parents app, but just less vibrant. 

Digital Wireframes

Layout of the wireframes, digital versions of the illustrated wireframes to see what it would look like on screen and how the different icons and buttons work alongside each other. Displayed in it's most simplest form, stripped everything back. Starting to add 3D effects such as shadows and more realistic buttons.

Feedback 01 - Wireframes

Feedback from showing the wireframes, came back all positive saying that the different styles and modes for parent and child work well, as it keeps them separate, however they are still part of a cohesive app. One idea was to add another section where the child could practice writing words, therefore putting in place what they have learnt when writing the individual letters. Therefore another section has been added to practice words of different lengths, which can be practiced in a similar style and mode to the letters, which makes it easy to understand and usable.

Another idea was to add difficulty levels for different year groups, however this adds to many dimensions to the app ,and the app is directed specifically at a younger age group for KS1. Therefore this idea will be discarded for ease of use and the chosen target audience.

An overall decision was taken to have a pen/stylus to use with and alongside the app, therefore children can practice writing properly and not just with their finger. Also the collection of colours for the pen when practicing letters and words was thought to be a good incentive for children to continue using the app. 

The different profiles and the use of avatars was seen as fun and easy for both children and parents, with the idea of maybe having an option for children to draw their own avatars with the stylus and pen colours they have collected. 

Study Task 05 - Developed Wireframes

These are the developed wireframes, more detailed and larger than the previous initial sketches, it shows all the screen and possible outcomes that the app and user can have and experience. Including what happens when each of the icons are selected on the different pages and also how and where the animations will be and how the buttons will show how they are interactive. It also shows the layout and orientation of each screen, that the child's will be predominantly landscape, whilst the parents is predominantly portrait. 

The child's user experience has also been increased by the use of praise and an incentive to carry on. They can unlock pen colours each time they correctly complete a letter, which they can then collect which then gives them a purpose to carry on practicing and completing the letters and words. 

The timer on the app allows children to not become bored and use their brain and time most efficiently, as research shows that 10 minutes practice at home is all that is necessary. It allows for optimum engagement.

The decision to use a stylus to make the app even more interactive and life-like has been decided as well. It enhances the user experience and means they learn how to write properly with a pen, practicing grip rather than just with their finger. 

The use of animations and movement of certain icons allows the child to stay engaged with the app and lets them know which icons are to be engaged with and can be clicked on, as from research this is what they struggled with the most. 

The layout allows for simplicity and means that there are only a limited amount of interactive icons on a page, therefore it is obvious to select or press. The transition through the different letters and stages of practicing the words and letters is automatic and fast pace, therefore children again won't lose focus or engagement and they also don't have to press anything, as they may not realise they have to do this and they will be left on the same page which could lead them to press of the app. 

Study Task 05 - Initial Wireframes

These are initial wireframe sketches, they are quite rough and small, however they experiment with different layouts and orientations of the pages and are far less detailed, however these are then going to be developed on to create the final wireframes which the design can then be based on. These wireframes experiment with which icons go where and also what happens when you click on certain objects and the user journey all the different outcomes that can potentially happen. 

Highlights of these wireframes are the option of landscape and portrait, landscape was decided for children as this is more accessible and makes for a larger surface area for the child to use and the icons can be made bigger. It also acts more as a sheet of paper, giving them a more realistic feel and practice of cursive handwriting. 

Portrait was decided for the parents section, ultimately for ease of use as this section contained mainly text therefore it's easier to scroll and read and hold the phone upright, rather than landscape. 

The home screen only contains profiles, avatars and usernames which adds to the efficiency and ease of use and understanding. Both for children as they just clock on their avatar and it will take them through to their section and adults also as hey don't have the hassle of remembering usernames or passwords. There also isn't any contact information or things that could breach a child's safety on the adults section, therefore privacy and security isn't something that needs to be considered. 

Another consideration was the praise and incentives for children within the app, as after research it showed that when playing and doing educational activities they need to be praised, and need an incentive to carry on and a purpose otherwise they wil get bored much more easily. Therefore the use of stars, stickers and collection of colours has been discussed and experimented with. 

Obviously the size of the screens will stay the same as it will be accessible for all smartphones which are generally similar dimensions and widths, a larger size will initially be created and therefore it won't change the quality or dimensions if it is reduced down. 

Initial Ideas/Sketches

Personas

Child

• Can lose interest quickly.
• Needs to be engaged.
• Needs things to be obviously pointed out to them.
• Short attention span.
• Wants to be praised.
• Needs incentives to learn.
• Need hints or prompts.
• Probably doesn't want to be learning at home.

Parent

• Fast paced lifestyle.
• Doesn't have much time or energy.
• Needs things to explained to them quickly and simply.
• Wants to help their child.
• Want fast and efficiency within an app.
• Wants the best for their child.