Application Design I Task 1
Application Design I
22/09/2025 - 16/10/2025 | Week 01 - Week 04
Jesslyn Octavia Tjong / 0374562 / Bachelor of Design (Honors) in Creative Media
Application Design I / Taylor's University
I. LECTURE
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Mobile Application Design
Main Focus: Understanding how strong design shapes user experience and app success.
Why App Design Matters
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A well-designed app boosts user satisfaction, retention, and engagement.
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Enhances accessibility and brand image.
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Saves cost and time by preventing rework and usability issues later.
Understanding Usability
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Measures how effectively and efficiently users achieve their goals.
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Focuses on learnability, efficiency, memorability, error prevention, and satisfaction.
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Ensures navigation and visuals match how users naturally think and behave.
The Role of Mobile Today
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Over 6 billion smartphone users — mobile is now the main platform for daily digital use.
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Users depend on phones for shopping, banking, work, and entertainment.
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Businesses adopt mobile-first design to stay competitive.
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Seamless UX gives brands a clear competitive advantage.
Designing for Mobile Challenges
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Limited screen space: prioritize what matters most.
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Diverse devices: ensure layout adapts to different screens and OS.
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Context-awareness: design for real-world use — varying light, motion, or connection speeds.
The User-Centered Design (UCD) Approach
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Process: Research → Design → Evaluate → Iterate.
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Focuses on understanding users before making design decisions.
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Benefits include higher user satisfaction, easier adoption, fewer design errors, and stronger brand loyalty.
Prototyping and Testing
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Low-fidelity prototypes: quick sketches or wireframes for early feedback.
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High-fidelity prototypes: interactive mockups for usability testing.
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Iterative testing: continuously refine based on user reactions and insights.
Designing for Small Screens
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Keep layouts compact, focused, and clutter-free.
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Use intuitive gestures like tap, swipe, pinch, and drag.
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Maintain clear visual hierarchy so users see what’s important first.
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Optimize app performance with fast load times and smooth interactions.
Key Takeaways
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Create a cohesive, user-friendly experience from start to finish.
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Keep testing and refining — design never stops improving.
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Stay updated with mobile trends and user behaviors.
Lecture 02 | UCD, UX, and UI
Main Focus: How user-centered design shapes both the function (UX) and look (UI) of digital products.
What is User-Centered Design (UCD)?
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A design philosophy that puts users at the center of every step.
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Iterative and research-based — designers keep testing and refining ideas with real users.
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Typical stages:
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Discover: define business goals and study user personas.
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Define: brainstorm ideas and map user experiences.
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Design: develop user flows, sitemaps, and prototypes.
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Develop: turn designs into functional products.
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Validate: test usability and refine based on results.
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User Experience (UX)
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Focuses on how a product works and feels when used.
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Ensures every interaction is meaningful, efficient, and smooth.
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UX considers usability, logic, and how easily users achieve their goals.
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It’s about creating products that are functional, emotional, and satisfying.
User Interface (UI)
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Focuses on visuals and interactivity — the colors, typography, layout, and icons users actually see.
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UI transforms the UX into a beautiful, touchable experience.
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It blends aesthetics with usability, ensuring that visuals guide users naturally.
Empathy in Design
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Designers must step into users’ shoes and design from their perspective.
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Ask: What’s easy for them? What do they need? What problems are they trying to solve?
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Empathy separates meaningful design from assumption-based design.
The Fundamentals of Great UX
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Utility: the product must be genuinely useful.
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Usability: it should be simple and efficient to use.
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Desirability: visuals should attract and emotionally connect.
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Brand Experience: consistent, positive interactions build loyalty and trust.
Lecture 03 | Usability
Main Focus: Designing with clarity, efficiency, and user satisfaction at the core.
What is Usability?
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The measure of how easily users can learn, use, and achieve their goals within an app.
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Looks at effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specific context.
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Focused on adapting to user needs, not forcing users to adapt to design.
Common Usability Pitfalls
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Overloaded interfaces with too many features.
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Unclear or misplaced calls to action (CTAs).
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Confusing navigation with poor layout or missing search options.
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Weak error messages like “Something went wrong” with no guidance.
The Five Key Principles of Usability
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Consistency
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Keep layouts, colors, and navigation predictable.
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Builds familiarity and reduces learning effort.
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Strengthens brand identity and user trust.
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Simplicity
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Minimize steps and cognitive load.
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Use clear icons, simple wording, and intuitive flow.
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Progressive disclosure: show details only when needed.
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Visibility
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Highlight key elements using hierarchy (size, color, spacing).
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Make every function discoverable — users shouldn’t have to search for it.
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Clear CTAs and readable labels enhance discoverability.
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Feedback
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Confirm every action — visual cues, text messages, sounds, or haptics.
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Helps users understand outcomes and feel in control.
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Examples: “Your order has been placed!” or a progress bar filling up.
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Error Prevention
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Validate inputs before submission.
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Provide confirmation steps for critical actions.
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Use clear, helpful messages when errors occur.
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Why Error Prevention Matters
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Reduces user frustration and confusion.
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Saves time by avoiding rework or mistakes.
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Increases accuracy and trust in the product.
Final Goal
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Make apps that are efficient, intuitive, and frustration-free.
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Usability testing ensures your design genuinely supports user success.
II. INSTRUCTION
Task 1 Recap |
Students must create a proposal document for their chosen mobile app concept in one of the following categories: informational, services, entertainment, fitness, or travel (with the coordinator's approval). The proposal should include surveys, interviews, and market research to support the idea, clearly outline key features, and present a flowchart of the app’s user flow. This task is iterative, allowing students to seek feedback from peers and the coordinator to refine their ideas, and it will determine whether the app is suitable to progress to the development phase.
Empathize & Define Stage
I wanted to create a project based on music apps because they have become an essential part of daily life and personal expression for my generation. Music platforms today are more than just a way to listen to songs. They influence identity, build community, and connect people through shared emotions and experiences. Exploring how design shapes this connection felt important, especially in creating fair and meaningful engagement for both listeners and artists.
Initially, I was deciding between SoundCloud and JOOX. SoundCloud is well known internationally for supporting independent artists, but in Asia, it is not as widely used. JOOX, however, is made for Asian audiences but has been losing attention as more users move toward Spotify. Because of this, I decided to focus on JOOX as it has strong regional potential but still faces challenges in staying relevant to younger audiences.
In this presentation, I began by identifying the problem statement and introducing the company background. I then analyzed JOOX’s main features, usability, and user feedback to understand its strengths and weaknesses. After that, I conducted market research to compare JOOX with Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, and explored left-field inspirations from Netflix, Tinder, and Duolingo to propose design directions that make JOOX more engaging, balanced, and supportive for artists and fans.
PRESENTATION SLIDES :
Experience:
This project gave me a deeper understanding of how design, research, and usability all come together to shape a digital product. It was both challenging and rewarding to break down JOOX as an existing app and study how it functions for real users. Through the process, I learned how design thinking can connect business goals, user needs, and creative direction. Building my proposal also pushed me to explore how visual consistency, engagement, and usability can impact both fans and artists on a streaming platform.
Observations:
Throughout this project, I noticed how much every design choice affects the overall experience, just as I wrote down in detail, from navigation layout to how content is displayed. I found that JOOX has strong community potential but lacks clarity in how artists connect with fans. Working through each section helped me understand the balance between entertainment and usability. It also made me more aware of my approach as a designer, showing how I can combine analytical research with creative problem-solving to build features that feel purposeful and human.
Findings:
My main takeaway is how crucial it is to design with both clarity and connection in mind. Even a fun and engaging app like JOOX can lose value if the experience feels cluttered or one-sided. I learned that small usability improvements and thoughtful feature design can create bigger opportunities for artist visibility and user engagement. This project showed me the importance of research-led ideas through other apps of Netflix, Tinder, and Duolingo inspirations and how blending creativity with real-world usability can lead to a more meaningful music experience.
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