PocketList
A productivity app designed for neurodivergent people by a neurodivergent person,
Overview
My first digital product was birthed in a 16-week BootCamp with Creative Alliance. Learning the entirety of the design process from ideation to prototyping, I brought one of my many product ideas to life. I decided to focus on building a product for neurodivergent people to aid their productivity in ways that work for them.
Approach
My first project was centred around a design that was visually pleasing and accessible for neurodivergent users. As a neurodivergent person myself, I have had experience with digital products that can be overwhelming to use.
Problem Statement
“There is a need for a neurodivergent-friendly & flexible productivity app that can easily integrate task management and scheduling features to help users keep track of their goals and improve productivity.”
PROJECT TYPE
App Design
Productivity App
User Personas
As aforementioned, my target audience was the neurodivergent community, however, this does not exclude neurotypical users. To showcase this, I included both neurodivergent and neurotypical users when creating my personas.
Competitor Research
Due to the limited time on the bootcamp, most of my research was completed by analysing competitors. Among the competitors, my focus was on LifeAt, Structured, Productive, and Flo.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
I started with hand drawn sketches to bring my ideas to life, reiterating the sketches a few times after consulting with a neurodivergent friend with no design experience. I wanted to make sure that the skeletons of the product made sense from the point of view of a user. I moved to Figma to layout the bare bones digitally and ensure that all the features can be organised in a comfortable manner on screen.
Design System
The colour palette of this design was focused on a minimalistic use of pastel pinks, blues and purples. I wanted a colourful design that was not overwhelming to the user. The font family chosen was Raleway as I wanted a playful but sophisticated font for the app. Buttons were acquired from Figma plugin by Iconduck.
Hi-Fidelity Wireframes & Prototype
Reflection & Lessons Learned
Upon reflection, the experience of designing my first digital product was a creatively stimulating project to embark on. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of bringing an idea of a product to life through the UX cycle, and I had the chance to appreciate what it takes to become a successful designer.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was how easy it can be veer away from the original goal you set for a product. Granted, there was a limited time frame, however, I realised the importance of returning back to your competitor reviews and user personas to remind yourself who you are building your product for. That is, after all, the essence of user experience design.
For future projects, I would keep in mind the importance of organising screens and components early on in the process of wire framing to keep a cohesive design. From the distance between objects to the size of buttons, I experienced how imperative it was to maintaining a visually symmetrical product.
I would also love to be able to explore user testing with future projects so that I can receive feedback from the intended audience of any products I may be working. As I have a background in psychology, I had an affinity for research and I am aware of how important user feedback is to the development and evolution of a product, especially with accessibility.
To conclude, I greatly appreciate the knowledge and practical experience I have gained both from my instructor and independently and understand what it takes to be a good user experience designer. In a way, I had already applied these skills in other parts of my life, and now I hope to expand and utilise these skills in UX. I cannot wait to expand my portfolio with more projects and create functional and accessible designs.