Part 1: The Idea
The idea behind the Davidson Mapping app was one grounded in simplicity and practicality, meaning that the idea was to come up with something that was both a simple concept while also having practical application. Simplicity of concept was necessary because the design tools available were all complex in their own way, and the last thing a project with an impending deadline needs is a complex idea to be executed by a complex process. As for practicality, keeping a user-base in mind while designing the project would help keep the project focused instead of abstract; I would be making something that would work for people rather than just look pretty.
The basic idea, before any platform was chosen, was to create something that helped people; students, parents, teachers, ect.; get around campus and know where places were. For example, many visitors and new students are often confused about locations such as the Duke Family Performance Hall and the Lily Gallery, as those are located inside other buildings and therefore often not included in visual maps that only show buildings. In addition, sometimes the colloquial names of buildings are not indicative of what they are used for, such as Chambers being the main space for English classes, or Sloan being the music center. Therefore, the plan was to create a platform where those who were confused could understand more about the space of Davidson easily.
Part 2: Creation
Figuring out what platform to use was the first integral step to this process. I had to decide between two major options. The first was a website, which would be able to handle various levels of complexity to fit my vision for the project. However, accessibility would most likely be limited to computers and, generally speaking, people don’t tend to get lost while sitting around using a computer. An app, the second option, would be more conducive to this audience since it could be used when they are out and about around campus, but the app program, AI2, only works for Android phones and has less complex functionality. In the end, I went with the app because the decrease in complex functionality probably wouldn’t hinder me very much, as I don’t have the skills to utilize complexity anyways.
Throughout the process of creating the app, I hit a few design blocks. Originally, I had programmed the app to take users to different screens featuring each location. However, this function served to bog the app down an incredible about as keeping many screens available required a lot of processing power. Therefore, I changed the design to feature various hidden components that could be revealed. Another issue I had to overcome was the file size of the images I used. When buttons representing each location were clicked, an image and corresponding description of the building would be revealed on the screen. When simply scaling down the pictures in the app, the large file size still remained in the app’s files. Therefore, I had to manually decrease the quality and size of the images so that when put into the app’s set of media, the file size would not be ridiculous. The final problem was the lack of a search function. I had originally intended for users to be able to search for places within the app, yet that function was proving to be too difficult to program. Therefore, I included two additional functions. The first was an image of the Davidson campus at large, which would help users pinpoint where they were. The other function was one that connected to a web browser that brought up the Davidson.edu search engine. In this way, users could look up any location that they either could not find or was not included in the app.
There are a few additional parts to the creation of the app. Most of the programming is redundant copies of code for different objects that need to behave the same way. The first and main screen of the app has the most programming, and the buttons are designed to toggle the visibility of the various groups of objects. There is also programming to set all these objects as invisible, as the app sets the elements visible by default. Additionally, the text must be spaced appropriately in the designer, as the space you can see in the app creator is not the same as what will appear in the actual app; a lot of trial and error was necessary to keep the text from overlapping with different parts of other texts. The other buttons simply navigate the screens.
Part 3: Results and Moving Forward
After beta testing, the feature most desired was specific directions to the various locations based on where you were when you accessed the app. The descriptions as of now have general directions to the various buildings, namely by saying what other buildings and features neighbor the structure in question. I do believe it is possible to attain this, but the programming is complex and wouldn’t meet the primary deadline and it is not essential to use of the app. Other features brought up when showcasing the app are as follows. Firstly, during better season I will need to update the pictures with more flattering weather as a backdrop or otherwise dive into the archives to find some quality pictures of the various buildings around campus. Next, I will need to add more locations to the app, and perhaps even group them. Right now, the locations are limited to main academic buildings and other buildings that would be important for freshmen and families of freshmen, who would most likely be in need of the app. After more time I can add more locations to make the app more comprehensive. After all this, hopefully the app would be in a good position to potentially submit this app to Davidson to be distributed to various parents and students during the year.
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