UX / VISUAL DESIGN
There are two steps to being a great gift-giver
Ready? It's pretty simple.
1. Write down whenever mentions their desires, hopes, dreams, and (of course) material wants
2. Use that info to order something for them, say, a week before their birthday
I was not a very good gift-giver most of my life. I didn't pay attention when people talked about what they loved and wanted to do and wanted to become, and if I did, I forgot those things when it came time to get a gift for them.
Now, I'm much better. I've created a little alert in my head for when people mention those hopes and dreams. And I have an online notepad on which I record all those ideas.
But the system's not perfect. It doesn't remind me when people's birthdays are, so sometimes I forget to get something for someone who I want to get a present for and even have ideas of what that present will be.
This is a design for a mobile app called Giftr. It makes you into a really good gift-giver. I made this as an exercise, so if you are interested in developing it, contact me.
The Two Critical Interactions
The two steps above transform into a few critical interactions that Giftr needs to do well:
> "She just said something that would make a really great gift! I want to jot that down."
> "It's a week before her birthday— I should get her something."
> "It's a week before her birthday— I should get her something."
Once you've logged in with facebook (which, of course, knows your friends birthdays), the Giftr main screen makes adding a gift idea really easy.
HOME SCREEN (1/2). THE GIFTR MAIN SCREEN IS A FEED OF YOUR FRIENDS UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS. IF YOU WANT TO TRACK A BIRTHDAY OF A FRIEND WHO'S NOT ON FACEBOOK, YOU CAN ADD THEM AS WELL.
ADDING A GIFT IDEA (2/2). THE OCEAN SLIDES UP ON TOUCH OR SWIPE AND PROVIDES AN INTERFACE FOR QUICKLY ADDING A GIFT IDEA.
The second interaction— receiving an alert when a friend of yours has an upcoming birthday and you have a gift idea for him or her‐ is done through an iOS push alert.
The Friends Screen and Location-Based Interface
In the same way that to add a gift idea, you "dive into the ocean", to look at a friend's profile, you "jump into the sky".
Clicking on any individual person slides the clouds down and reveals your gift list for that individual
In fact, all main screens in the program behave in a similar way. They're all connected, and show physical scenes that are easy to place in proximity to each other. The Friends screen is in the sky above what you're looking at. The settings are the island to the left. Adding a gift idea is under the water.
The net effect is a user never feels lost. They never feel like they have screens on top of screens and have lost their way through the app.
Check back later for animations and transitions. Please contact me with feedback or if you're interested in developing this app. My email address is in the settings screen screenshot immediately above ;)
Please see my full portfolio here.
