After making some research about the concept of gamification, we started to brainstorm about different ideas that we could use for our project. The fact that I worked with members from the interactive media class, made me think in different ways as you have to keep in mind what is actually feasible to do to build up an application.
Without any hesitation we agreed to create an app for tourists based on the key places in Valletta. The app would guide the tourists through the most interesting places of Valletta while keep them entertained through a comic that continues from one place to another, and also giving them some interesting history facts about each place.
My role at the beginning is to come up with a character that will be accompanying the tourists through this journey in Valletta. After making some research and several sketches I came up with a character with which the tourists can relate and he will be acting as a tourist himself. Next I had to create a logo for the application. Although it was a bit challenging at first as I tried to combine an icon with the text, the logo turned out quite good in my opinion as I decided that its better if the logo is text based. The fact that its text based it gives it a clean look. |
Regarding the branding we had decided that we wanted the app to have a bit of a vintage look which fits the look our capital city have, however, we wanted it to be as simple and clean as possible so that it is easy to use for the tourists. My next role was to take care of the layout design of the pages that would be included in the app. During the design process I was constantly thinking of how the user would interact with the pages so as to make it as easy as possible and also not to make it too complicated for the coder. Overall the look of the app pretty much matched the vision we had in mind when we planned the app, however, I think certain pages could have been improved further, such as the congratulations page, which was added last minute to the app. If I had to design it again I think I would take a much more infographic approach rater then include photography and hand lettering into the app, but then again it was a group work and there where different opinions about the subject matter.
To advertise the application we thought of doing a promo which we planned out and Pippa Cutajar filmed and edited. Since we where not happy with the outcome of the promo we decided to present a brochure which serves both as a user manual of the app and also as a map displaying the route tourists are going to make around Valletta. I kept the design as simple as possible and also combined some type so that the user can truly understand how the application works. The brochure was a success in my opinion based on the feedback we gathered from our classmates.