Actively
Actively is a thoughtfully designed app aimed at helping busy parents find and engage in meaningful activities with their children.
Revolutionizing Family-Bonding
Actively is an app designed to help busy parents spend quality time with their children by providing a range of enjoyable and pre-selected activities tailored to their preferences. This case study outlines the design process, user research, problem definition, market research, conceptualization, user testing, and final outcomes of developing Actively.
This project was part of my university coursework, where I had the opportunity to design this awesome app.
Understanding Actively
Problem Statement
Modern family dynamics have significantly changed, with both parents often working full-time jobs. This shift results in reduced time spent with children, leading to potential negative impacts on children's development, academic success, behavior, and psychological well-being.
Solution: An app designed to address this problem by providing quick, engaging, and cost-effective activities for parents and children.
Questions
To develop Actively according to the user's needs, I had the following key questions that I used to gather insights:
- What are the main challenges working parents face in spending time with their children?
- How do parents currently find and decide on activities to do with their children?
- What types of activities do parents and children enjoy the most?
- What are the key features parents look for in an activity planning app?
- How do parents prefer to track and remember the time spent with their children?
Audience & Key Features
User Persona
To ensure Actively meets the needs of its target audience, a detailed user persona was created based on audience research:
Key Features
Actively must integrate these several key features designed to simplify family bonding activities and track meaningful moments:
Personalized Activities
Provides tailored suggestions for activities that are quick, engaging, and appropriate for the child's age.
Simple and Intuitive Interface
Features a user-friendly design with an easy-to-navigate interface.
Activity Tracking and Statistics
Includes a tracking system that records the time spent on various activities.
Photo and Memory Logging
Parents can take photos and log memories within the app.
Motivational Content
Provides short, motivational articles and tips on spending quality time with children.
Detailed Progress Reports
Provides detailed progress reports that summarize the family's engagement over weeks, months, or years.
Designing the Solution
Structure
Once I had outlined Actively's objectives, audience, and features, I then embarked on the wireframe and structure design phase of Actively. This stage is crucial as it involves creating a visual representation of the app's layout and user interface, ensuring that the user experience is intuitive and seamless.
These initial wireframes were created out to outline the primary screens and navigation flow of the app. These frames included the home screen, activity recommendation screen, activity details, progress tracking, and memory logging sections.
Sketch Designs
Actively User Flow
Low-Fidelity Designs
Designing the Visual Identity
Style Guide
In crafting Actively's visual identity, I established a comprehensive style guide to ensure consistency and cohesion across all design elements. This guide encompasses typography, color palette, and imagery guidelines.
For typography, we opted for clear and easily readable fonts to enhance user accessibility. Actively's color palette consists of vibrant yet soothing tones, reflecting the app's cheerful and family-oriented ethos. Additionally, Actively's imagery guidelines prioritize authentic and relatable family moments, resonating with its target audience of busy parents.
Final Designs
Building upon the established style guide, the final designs for Actively embody a harmonious blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal. The user interface showcases intuitive navigation, with clear hierarchies and intuitive interactions to streamline the user experience.
All Final Designs
High-Fidelity Designs
Overall Thoughts
Reflecting on the journey of designing Actively, it's been a rewarding experience filled with challenges and insights. Throughout the process, I remained committed to creating a solution that addresses the needs of busy parents while fostering meaningful family connections.
One of the key takeaways from this project is the importance of empathy-driven design. Understanding the struggles and aspirations of busy parents enabled me to develop features and functionalities that truly resonate with them.