Author: Karin Flannery

Canvas Assignments

For my prototype this week, I decided to work heavily on the Home Screen. This includes a title, logo, and sign up bar. I am currently working with a friend on developing a formal logo/icon to represent the app. Besides that, I will attach what I have been creating for the Home screen.

I have also been trying to get the About Page figured out– I need to have the perfect copy for this so that people will understand what the app is for, and how to use it as well as how not to use it (aka making it a safe space)

For my elevator pitch: My app is designed to connect music-lovers with local musicians/bands in their area. (how do i make this sound like it’s not a dating app???) This app will be organized by state and will allow users to find information on the bands they like including their events, socials, merchandise, and live streams. Additionally, they will be able to interact with other users/musicians in forums depending on their questions/topics of interest.

-Since I am abroad, I had no one to receive feedback from regarding my last prototype. I asked a few of my coworkers who had a few questions in response:

-how the thesaurus will work- will there be a limit of bands?

-how will the sign up work for bands? specific page and questions asked.

-what if multiple people are live streaming the same event?

-how will you implement your map/location based services when building.

These are a few questions that I will be answering as I continue to prototype and eventually build my app.

Industry Event – Karin

2 Industry Events I attended:

(I will also be attending a networking event called women n words next week that focuses on women in the music industry & an event put on by Sandbox for music industry professionals & students)

The Two Events I attended, and actually had the opportunity to volunteer at this semester in London were:

-Lesbians Who Tech

-DIY Space for London

Lesbians Who Tech is an event that was cosponsored by Facebook (and held at the facebook HQ), Spotify, Google, JPMorgan, Microsoft, and about 10 other well-known tech and media companies. (website link below) This event is put on in order to gain insight from various heads of companies/CEOs from the companies listed above, as well as network with LGBTQ+ & allies in the digital media/tech industry. It is one of the only events in the world that provides a community feeling to queer people in the media industry who feel that although the world may sometimes be against us, we can rise to become CEOs, leaders, and educators. This event (when it occurred in NYC) was actually the most attended LGBTQ networking event to ever occur in history and included prominent speakers such as Hillary Clinton.

My main goal in attending this event, besides meeting some amazing people, was to get insight into my thesis ideas and career-goals. I was able to speak with software engineers and UX Designers from Spotify, Google, and Microsoft who told me I had a solid and unique idea, which made me feel more confident in the progress of this project. All of them agreed that using Adobe XD was the perfect prototyping tool and one told me eventually build the app in “meteor”. Overall, this event gave me the confidence I needed in knowing that I can finalize this project on my own. If so many amazing women can rise to become CEOs and heads of huge companies, I can build an app (and learn to build an app) on my own.

 

London Summit 2018

DIY Space for London is a small community that puts on shows similar to the NJ DIY shows that I follow at home. They have an amazing volunteer system that encourages newcomers & seasoned music lovers to participate in their shows and contribute their strengths. It’s basically my app-except they collaborate in one music venue. They use a forum space called “Loomio” & have their own website (below) to discuss any sort of matters- promotion, art direction, finances, collaboration, etc. I may look into this for the forum portion of my app. What I loved most about this space is their “Accountability Agreement” which I will post below. This keeps the space safe, which I strive to do with my app. I don’t want any funny business on my app– in the past on the NJ DIY FB page, there have been some issues with offensive comments, offensive bands, etc. People are ultra sensative, which means I need to be ultra careful. Additionally, they have an art collective that basically meets in their building weekly and designs event flyers for whatever shows they are having — and they are BEAUTIFUL. Overall, DIY Space for London is great because they are very organized, they take it a step further than just a FB page, and they keep a community and welcoming feeling.

Home

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Prototype Feedback Thoughts

What you ultimately did learn and how that impacted your plans of your project.

I obviously wasn’t able to attend the event, but Kelly (thank you Kelly) was able to display my prototype in class, which was then given feedback. The feedback/questions I received was very positive stating that I had a good start and a good plan.

The following were some students’ responses:

-What will define a “local musician”? (if they’re from the area or touring in the area)

-How far will this go in terms of accessibility? Just the Ewing area or global?

-What will be the “local” radius and can the user change it?

-How will this be GPS enabled?

-research “meteor” as another development tool

What I learned/need to figure out based on this experience is that I need to specify in my “about” page specifically what a local/diy musician really is. Maybe I should do a “define diy” part. I need to think of a name… My brother and I have been thinking a lot about this. Also, will I use GPS somehow… I need to look into this.

I was recommended using “meteor” to develop my app. I need to look into this and compare pricing/how easy it is to use. I think I’m on the right track with my project as long as I have my next prototype for next week!

A/B Prototype Plan:

  1. Menu Screen with Hamburger Tool & calendar
  • Aesthetics: Need Logo front and center (mock up something before first prototype that will change). Front Screen will include logo, hamburger tool in top-right corner, and Login/Signup Button. Simple Login screen, and simple hamburger tool selection: about, artists, calender, forum, live, & photo feed. The calendar will be easy to read with listings of all upcoming local events in the user’s area. There will be a selection to add an event coming up (this will have to be moderated)
  • Function: Home Screen→ Hamburger tool option/Signup screen→ login/sign-up page/one of the hamburger tool options
  • Survey Questions:

-Should there be one person updating the calendar at all times or should bands be able to add their own event coming up?

-How can this be moderated? — should it be volunteer? Should there be rules to which events can be posted?

-Ask aesthetic questions about the logo — need to think about this.

-Is there anything missing from the tab section or anything that I should get rid of?

  1. Thesaurus of artists
  • Aesthetics: Very simple design, easy to navigate, gives info on artist as well as tour dates and links to their social accounts
  • Function: Clicks hamburger tool→clicks artists → thesaurus appears with search bar and a-z
  • Questions:
    -Do any apps that you typically use to find music artists have confusing functions or are they pretty straightforward?

-should there be a search bar or just a-z?

-should people have an option to add their band’s name to the thesaurus?

-When clicking an artists name, should options include seeing their merch, tour dates, info, etc… anything else?

  1. Forum screen with conversations
  • Aesthetics: Same pleasing yet simple/easy to read design as thesaurus, displays multiple conversations as well as the ability to add a topic: could be about setting up shows, looking for a singer/musician to join band, etc.
  • Function: Clicks hamburger tool→clicks forum/chat (not sure what to name it yet) → forums appear
  • Questions:

-Do you think this forum could be misused?

-Should there be a moderator?

-How many forums should appear at first before the scroll?

 

Research #3- more technical

 

  • Exploring some more of the following programs:

 

  • PubNub, PhoneGap, Cordova, React, Swift, xcode, Zeplin (part of sketch?), Figma.

Pubnub(free or 49$ per month for more services)- Real time app building tool, lots of helpful chatting tools/resources if confused by building platform. There aren’t a ton of reviews of it online, which makes me think it may not be legit/used often. I want to use something that will build my app the best way it possibly can, so I’m not quite sure about this.– good for location based apps?

*** ADOBE PhoneGap(free i think??–ADOBE)- A program that makes allows you to create a website which then will be packaged into a mobile app..It looks pretty straightforward. I would definitely be keen to using this program as long as I knew the right amount of javascript/html/css… I would first need to watch a ton of lynda videos/talk to a ton of people.

–> super helpful how-to

Cordova(free or not?)- Similar to phone gap… Their client base is very small (tiny companies like fitness apps), but it looks free and maybe simple to use in the case that you know your programming.

React(free i think–need props)– Javascript framework created and used by Facebook, and you can use it to build native mobile apps..This heavily uses javascript which I am definitely not comfortable with using… so I’m probably going to pass. Huge companies like facebook and instagram use it though which means it definitely has a ton of capabilities… I may actually look into this for building but need to brush up on my java!!!

OTHER: Swift, Xcode, Zeplin, Figma (does anyone think these programs might be helpful?

Research Update 2

Exploring some of the following programs:

Adobe XD, Invision, PubNub- Kuiphoff, PhoneGap, Cordova, React, swift, xcode, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin (part of sketch?) , figma, Balsamiq (will continue on next research post),

ADOBE XD VS. INVISION VS. BALSAMIQ VS. SKETCH

**Adobe XD(free with TCNJ sub): This application seems like an amazing prototyping tool. It is easy to use, and allows the user to create wireframes and full designs as well as preview their design as an interactive prototype. This will definitely come in handy when trying to visualize the differing layers of my idea. Right now, I have so many different ideas for “parts” to add to my app, but I’m not sure what will work/look good. Laying it out on Adobe XD will definitely help with making my ideas come to life as well as giving me a good and reliable expectation of what can and cannot work. A few flaws I’ve learned from Adobe XD were it’s sometimes confusing interface (with all of the connecting arrows)

Invision (free): Invision is another mockup tool/program that is used by large companies to prototype their ideas such as Netflix, Uber, Linkedin and Viacom. When comparing this program to Adobe XD, one frustrating element is that it is only for prototyping, all design will have to be done within another program. Many have stated that Adobe XD is a great program to use from start to finish, despite some flaws. Invision might be something to use as a fallback – it has some good elements such as its history tab and hotspot templates.

Balsamiq(9$ per month): Not sure if this one is even worth mentioning but I’ve seen it being compared to Adobe XD and Invision on some websites. It seems to be more of just a wireframing product, and it may be a bit outdated. It features low fidelity designs at first, which I’m not sure would be better or worse. I may want to see a more high quality version of my design earlier on. Additionally, Balsamiq does not encourage much of the designer’s own unique work- it’s mostly based on using their own logos/icons created. (it seems)

Sketch(99$ per year): Sketch has some pretty awesome reviews online saying it’s actually an upgrade from Adobe XD because of what it has to offer. First off, it’s easy to learn (similar interface to adobe xd), has hundreds of free plugins, and the basics needed for a digital designer are all right there.

Overall, I will continue to try all of these programs, but I am definitely leaning toward Adobe XD and for wireframing and prototyping.

Research Update #1 Karin

This week is finals week in London so I had 3 10-page papers as well as a presentation… so I’m going to keep this short and sweet but I promise to make up for it on the next few!!!

I only had time to explore the ideas left in the comments by Professor Ault and my IMM mentor, and here are my reactions to those ideas:

Angela:

What sets it apart/gamification idea- “contests to win tickets to concerts, secret shows, meet and greets, merch prizes, check in at shows, photo contests”

-This is a great idea, as I’ve also considered some other elements thrown around such as a live video feature (similar to periscope)

I just have 2 concerns:

-1. It may take away from the music “community” side of things, kids go to these shows for the experience, not for the money, contests or prizes. Most of the merch being sold is to help out the bands who already don’t have a ton of money, so having merch prizes might take away from that community feel. Some of the people already know the musicians as well because of how local these shows are so I’m not sure if meet and greets would work in this small scale.

-2. Because of my already ambitious (for me) idea of creating an app with location services, encyclopedias, etc, I’m not sure how realistic it will be for me to add another element such as gamification. I do definitely want to consider this more and see if there is anything I can add based on the surveys I will conduct.

Building the app- “Adobe XD for mockups, Invision, PubNub- Kuiphoff”

-When finals are over here, I’m definitely going to look into these programs. I did a bit of research on Adobe XD and realized that I also used it for 280 during freshman year! This program was awesome with prototyping and I’m going to look into it for when I begin my creation. (as well as the others)

Chris Ault:

Figure out what sets it apart- “bandsintown or songkick, survey people”

Building it- PhoneGap, Cordova, React, Lynda React Developer instructions

Within the next few weeks, I’m going to begin surveying some of my musical friends and ask them how they feel about some of the elements of the app, what’s missing, how is it different from bandsintown, etc. (as well as look into some of your app building ideas)

I do think that the main difference is that it caters to a more local community rather than a concert fanbase??–maybe I can look into ways to making it more community based?– some DIY centers include art workshops, I could potentially include other events centered around DIY on the calender. (not sure)

I have very little knowledge on programming, so this is going to be an adventure for me! Definitely going to look into React, it would be very interesting to see how far I can get with the facebook group that already exists/my idea.

Sorry again for my lack of work this week, it was a crazy one :/

Finalized Concept

I’ve been booking concerts/shows featuring local bands for a couple of years now. After realizing that it is sometimes difficult to stay connected with the local music scene, my friends and I shared the idea of starting our own label. This label, or for better words-collective, would represent local music artists and help music supporters more easily get connected to the music scene. There are currently very disorganized outlets for this, such as a group on facebook called “NJ DIY”. I have often searched for local concerts using this group, only to find myself confused and wishing there was something easier to understand. This app could bring everything together into a social media outlet to connect musicians with supporters in order to have more of a presence and include other very necessary elements (discussed below).

The target person for my app would be a young music lover or musician. (the age could potentially vary) The app would initially have a welcome page with a title that has something to do with local music (have not figured out a title/logo yet), a small “about” section, and a sign up button. The sign up selection will take you to a basic profile creation page that asks for a specific location- whether you are a music lover or a musician/band. Once the user selects their state, they will be able to view a selection of categories. The categories (in a hamburger type of tool) would include: artists, calendar, forum, live, & feed. The artists section would be an “encyclopedia” of local artists names and information. To be a part of this encyclopedia, bands would have to sign up on the simple portfolio screen. This band profile could potentially list everything from just info on the bands, to their tour dates, to merch. The calendar would list dates of local shows coming up with locations. People could input these when they are aware of shows coming up. These specific events could be laid out similar to a facebook event page with a graphic, info, times, and comment section. The forum would be intended for discussing upcoming shows, musicians hoping to borrow/use equipment, connecting singers with guitar players/bands, connecting volunteers with promoters, etc. The photo/feed and live sections are categories that I’m not completely sure about implementing yet. The photo/feed section could have a similar layout to instagram that displays photos from previous events on the calendar. The live section would be a live broadcast (similar to periscope) of events listed on the calendar, that anyone can post on. All of these categories are interactive and can be inputted by musicians or fans.

I’ve always wanted to work in the music industry while combining my love of digital media and creative work. This app would be a great platform to present my skills, as well as include many different creative platforms that I enjoy. I believe that future employers, as well as local music supporters would love my app idea. I have pitched the idea to coworkers in the industry before and they seem to be excited by the plans and almost confused that it didn’t already exist. The local music community is looking for something like this, just as I was and could use it for their convenience. There are only a few apps similar to this, such as bandsintown, that don’t include nearly as much interaction, such as the forum, and ability to update listings as mine.

To make my project come to life, I’m going to need to do a ton of researching, surveying, and communicating with people who are experienced in app design and development. I don’t have very much experience in this, besides UXD, but am going to spend this and next semester using Lynda and other online services to acquire the knowledge possible to create this thing! For specific prototypes, I will start with drawing up and then wire-framing my categories pages. Stylistically, after selecting your location, a hamburger tool will appear with the categories listed above. My prototype will show what happens when each category is selected and what screen shows up. I will create wireframes and designs using the program: sketch (or whatever I feel works the best). Hopefully next time I can start drawing up some of my ideas. 

Research Plan

Research Plan – Outline for Proposal/Literature Review https://www.biznessapps.com/blog/how-to-build-a-mobile-app-in-12-easy-steps/

Sources:

 

  • Surveys:

-NJ DIY fb group: would this app be useful? What aspect of the app is absolutely necessary? What aspect of this app isn’t necessary? Ask about clutter. Will you use this app over the facebook page?

-UXD Designers/people with experience in coding apps: What programs do you find are best in designing apps? Which programs do you use to create apps? Do you use other adobe programs before prototyping the app? What are the best prototyping tools? Is this app going to work in the time able to create it? What tutoring/help programs have you used in the past to help build your app?

  • Research: search apps/facebook groups/label websites/diy programs/local music organizations or collectives  that are already doing similar things

-Research which programs are necessary in order to develop this app– swift, xcode, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, Principle & Adobe Creative Suite, etc.

-Research ways of data collection to accurately gather info on most local bands in the area // or should bands have to make their own accounts–account sign up/profile creation?

-Research creation of chat rooms/forums

-Research location based services

Youtube –these are all “how-to videos” on building apps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b91dFhZz0g // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIZxSZJMU2Y // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUQz9ZWjsvc // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mncFy1H7OUM

 

  • Similar Product Comparison Research:

Bandsintown, Bandcamp, NJ DIY, DIY musician, spotify

Karin’s Revised Concepts

IDEA # 2

MUSIC COLLECTIVE APP

Goal: Create my own Music Collective in charge of bringing local musicians and their supporters together through various means

Background:

I’ve been booking concerts/shows for a couple of years now, and my friends and I have shared the idea of starting our own label that represents local music artists and helps music supporters more easily get connected to the music scene. There are currently very disorganized outlets for this, such as a group on facebook called “NJ DIY”. I have often searched for local concerts using this group, only to find myself confused and needing something easier to understand. This app could bring everything together into a social media outlet to connect musicians with supporters in order to have more of a presence and include other very needed elements.

Target Audience:

-Music lovers/ musicians

-mostly highschool – 30 years old, but could be for any age

This would include:

-local artist “encyclopedia” if you will– with listings of all local artists in the area (bio, photo, merch, albums)
-chat room to discuss upcoming shows// have forums for musicians to use equipment, connect singers with guitar players/bands ETC.

-calendar to update shows scheduled for the upcoming months–graphics/ads to promote shows

-volunteer portion to book bands for shows/create graphics/help out at shows/interact with promoters/etc.

-live stream during shows/live updates/setlist.fm type of thing

-photography/video sector that represents local live music photographers/videographers post shows (like scrolling through instagram)

-this app could start in the tri-state area, but eventually have a selection to choose a state in which you are looking for this community

Summary: tabs on app could include: artists, calender, forum, volunteer, live, & photo feed

To DO:

-Research apps/facebook groups/label websites/diy programs/local music organizations or collectives  that are already doing similar things

-Create a logo/brand/name that is distinctive for this label– “maybe something with DIY in the title”

-Develop an app and figure out what exactly should be on this app/ what can be left out / what can be added in the future

-Figure out which programs are necessary in order to develop this app– Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, Principle & Adobe Creative Suite, etc.

-send out surveys to people i know in the music community asking what they would most want out of a music collective app