Moya Further research of apps

I continued to research different app interfaces to find out which would be most user friendly and suitable for our application. I read uxplanet.org's article on the best practices for mobile app navigation for tips and ideas.

First I looked at the most popular landing pages for mobile apps. I studied various different
designs and made prototypes of the different layouts, incorporating examples of our own information for SIREN. Then I made a diagram of the different areas of the app that should link to each other.

It is recommended to put most navigation areas in this "thumb zone" as many phone users only use one thumb to navigate apps. With this in mind, I drew some rough sketches of 3 different app layouts.

1. Here is the map interface mockup:

2. Here is an example of the "Hamburger" layout with a clickable side menu:

3. Here is a scrolling design with clickable cubes and an alternate design with a columned menu at the top:

Then I considered different basic icons for each menu within the app. I chose to stick with monochrome, easily recognisable icons.

Then I asked my family members and friends for input about my designs to see which one they would most like to use. My sister preferred 2, the hamburger layout, as it is easily accessible and keeps the app interface neat. My mother preferred design number 3, but agreed that it was a bit too complicated.


I also thought of 2 different colour schemes we could use for the app:
One is more cool toned and calming and the other has a more urgent aesthetic that would be suitable for emergencies. I think it is best to complement a simplistic design with simple colours so the user doesn't experience visual fatigue.