Knowledge Sharing App and calves

A London-based venture approached The Artificial with an idea for a knowledge sharing platform with a robust set of features. We worked with them to turn this long list of features into a handful of experiences that were easy for users to understand.

workshop output for the app's conceptual model
exploring the app's architecture and assigning templates
planning the app's spatial model
guidelines
the app

We needed to go from nothing to something, all on a budget.

Knowing that our client had a limited budget and that the experience we designed would need customization for each organization that adopted it, we used an ambitious design approach that focused on getting a baseline design to developers as quickly as possible.

Features were planned, but not yet considered in the context of the user experience.

We started by relating functionality to terminology, connecting the business case to the user experience. From here, we moved directly into a series of functional sketches to get the development track up and running before we fleshed out details like color and iconography. We then biult a series of screen templates, reusing whenever possible to reduce the development effort.

Designing for an OS that was not yet released and still in flux was both an opportunity and a challenge.

We took on this project just as iOS 7 had been announced. Despite having only seen Apple's screenshots, we prepared an application with a look and feel appropriate for the new operating system. With a changing foundation, thorough system documentation was paramount, and we created a set of guidelines that could easily be updated as necessary design changes were made.

Team

two designers, creative director

Role

designer / creative director

Years

2013