The first project in second year was for my content design module. The project was to design and build a smartwatch app, we were also tasked with coming up with the idea for this app.

I started mind mapping the potential ideas for the app, I firstly looked at different features that smartwatch apps use. I was drawn to the health features that apple utilise, for example: high and low heart rate notifications, irregular rhythm notifications, blood oxygen level readings and fall detection. Once i had finished researching different features I landed on my idea for the project, which was an exercise app were users would enter their health details on their phone and then the app on the smartwatch would create a recommended exercise for the day based on their details.

The next step of the project after mind mapping and coming up with the idea was to sketch how I wanted the user interface to look and function. I wanted to make the interface clear and easy to use. I also included sketches of how the phone UI would look when the user is entering their details even though its quite straightforward. When I moved on to the smartwatch sketches I focused on making sure that the interface was easy to use and was clear to the user. I had to take into account things like button and typography size given how small a smartwatch screen is. I sketched a few designs at the start of the project which I thought were not as clear of usable as my final outcome. The first screen of my final sketches, I sketched out the method of exercise screen where the user would choose between two options: either a running or walking exercise, with buttons clearly labelling each. The second screen I focused on was the start exercise screen which shows the user their recommended distance of exercise alongside a start button. The next screen I started to sketch was the journey screen, where it shows how long the user has left of their exercise and how many calories they've burnt off as well as their average bpm for the exercise. My final sketch was a map that shows the user their exercise distance and their destination, as well as how long they have left of the exercise.

Once I had finished the final sketches for my design I moved onto wire-framing how I envisioned the user interface would look. During this process I was focused on sizing of buttons so that they would be able to be used by the user because of the small screen.

The final part of this project was to add content and colouring to the blank wireframes. For my typography I chose Brockmann from atipo foundry, as I thought it was easy to understand while also looking quite modern. For my title typography however I chose Bricolage grotesque because I thought that it looks better on a bigger scale. For my colour scheme I used black for my background as it makes the design of the app look sleek and professional, then for the buttons of the app I chose a light green (70FF9D) because it compliments the black and stands out when users look at the screen. With all of the components completed i’m very happy with how this design turned out, Im particularly proud of the buttons and colour scheme of this project as it looks realistic and professional.

https://www.figma.com/design/I8PIjJ8s39iuMQECKsw4nW/Smartwatch-App?node-id=0-1&t=Rko4UwuYEqV13Uc7-1