BTRFLY.NET Inc. is a Canadian Company. They are developing an app that can connect air travellers in real-time and in real life.
Week 1
I tried to familiar with their current version mobile app. However, there is no additional material (such as function map or why they have chosen the colours and functions) provided. By using the app, I found problems such as inconsistent styling and unnecessary tap to get to the desired screen. At the end of the first day, as a very picky person, I presented a 16-page keynote of what I have found.
I was then asked to find solutions to the problems I found. But I discovered more problems when trying to fix the ones I found. I went deeper in analysing the app and asked questions like ‘what is the most important function of the app?’, ‘ Why people would like to download it among all the apps available?’. By finding answers for these, I realise styling is not the biggest problem.
I was also assigned the task to draft a tutorial for using the app. Alongside making the tutorial mock-up, I wanted to go one step further about improving the user interface. I listed the functions I need to make a tutorial for as followed, from which I found the key problem is the poor design of the interface that causes the end users do not know where to tap.
So I told the co-founder Cenk that I believe a good enough interface design should not require any tutorial. He liked the idea and asked me to make a mock-up of new designs. I will need to present the new design to the development team and explain why the change needs to be made.
Week 2
I worked on the redesign of the interface and tried to maximise the space for display newsfeed and turn clickable texts into icons. This will make it more comfortable to read newsfeed. More importantly, this area can be sold to advertisers to generate incomes.
I also tried to group relevant contents together to make the structure more logical.
(As the new version is not launched yet, I could not publish the final screenshots)
A few versions have been made and we have chosen a 4 icons version, and keep the 5 icons layout for the future when the company has more sponsors and able to offer innovation lounges in more airports.
Week 3
I mainly focused on creating a presentation document to show to the potential investors. I prepared images, made adjustments on the wording and created diagrams illustrating the business model.
(Again I cannot show the whole presentation as important figures included.)
I also joined the strategic meeting and some of my suggestions were accepted and submitted to the developing team.
Week 4
I was told that the co-founders had a meeting during the weekend and came up with a new idea for the app. They decided to add a new feature to the app and this will require changing the layout, so I continued my work on the interface.
After doing some readings and research on popular apps. I created a few versions, including one with a different colour scheme but matching the app icon. However, that option was not taken. I will update this post with images once the new version is launched. Hopefully by the end of November.
Week 5
I started to think about marketing ideas for Halloween and updated the company’s page on Facebook. I also set up some mailing templates on MailChimp for future use.
Later in the week, I went to a talk called ‘Grow your business with digital marketing and social media’, given by Sila Nur Isik, and did research on competitors’ apps and app analytics tools. I realised the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of the company is not the social networking function and suggested some changes in the development strategies.
By the end of the first month of my internship, I understood the business much better, and, since I came from a different culture, was able to generate original ideas not only related to the app functions & features but also about possible business strategies.
I believe my CTS choices of ‘Creative Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Brand Busting’ also contributed to my work.
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