IN TROUBLE?
What do you get from two ladies wth propensities for winding up on bad dates and in other uncomfortable situations? An app that allows you to gracefully navigate through them. “Save My Ass” (SMA) is the perfect app for when you find yourself in dire need of savoir faire. It comes with a library of prewritten texts that allow you to wiggle out of a tough situation. In addition, it contains a special “alibi” feature that allows you to corroborate (rightly or wrongly) less than truthful communications.
SITUATION: Wendy and Gillian, the apps creators, had a basic idea of what they wanted but no experience in app design nor even a name for the product. However, through wit and charm they succeeded in aquiring a venture capitalist to fund the entire project. His experience matched their own and despite my recommendations, he insisted on using a developer he had never worked with and who did not have a portfolio of projects.
CHALLENGE: Finding the right name proved harder than expected and ate up valuable time needed for app development. However, once approved the icon design went quickly and I was able to make up for some of the last time. Five different themes with a total of 13 different icons were presented to the client. Click to see them.
Preliminary sketches with accompanying word tree.
The UX and UI direction were also easily approved. However, shifting budget conditions precluded the development of a simple prototype for quick validation. Without the deeper insight into the user’s goals and needs I had to create a highly assumptive personna to help me focus the design. Later, as feared, the developer encountered "complications" causing the app’s UX to be simplified and features paired down.
An example of wire flows that show the rate and alibi function.
RESULT: Despite the bumpy road, SMA was one of the funnest projects I have worked on. In the end, the developer's "complications" caused the simplification of the UX and UX which focused the app’s purpose and made for a better product. And though the creators were novices in app design, their instincts about features, usability, and the overall creative direction were quite helpful and often incorporated. Click to read about the companion website.
