Coral Buddy

A Travel App that explores the depths of the worlds coral reefs' and the conservations that are available to help save the planet one reef at a time!

Brief: With an emphasis on illustration, icon, diagram and charts the brief was to design an app based around travel
Coral Buddy

Coral buddy is an app I designed for those who want to make a change in the world - the oceans to be specific. I wanted to design an app that contained all relevant information on the locations that offer coral reef conservation volunteering. With coral buddy it makes booking these volunteering vacations easy, will everything one needs from booking, to locations, to places to stay. Coral Buddy makes saving the oceans that little bit easier.

The Process

Idea Generation

I started this project by making a range of spider diagrams on the topics of travel apps that I wanted to explore. This was a great way to get my brain working in idea mode. Sometimes the best ideas come at the start, so for me this was a vital step on the process to get all of my initial ideas out there and see what caught my eye

Research

In order to understand the coral reef crises that is happening in the world currently, I had to do my research. I started by reading current articles on the topic on reliable sources to enhance my knowledge. I then immersed in various projects that are out there right now on the topic pf saving the coral reefs. One caught my eye - The coral reef conservation on Volunteer World. This gave the initial idea of my app. I thought that these programs and volunteer opportunities were inspiring and was something I could make into a great app.

Sketching on Paper

Illustration sketches
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I began thinking of illustrations for this project on paper. This was a great way to get out initial shapes of coral or underwater figures that came to mind. I used a range of materials from pencil sketches, to water colours, to marker illustrations. I liked this approach because it gave me a good idea on colour and also line thickness, what would work digitally and what couldn't.

I then took my ideas to screen and begin sketching on Pro Create. This gave me another form of development for my sketches, it brought the element of pen and paper but on screen. By doing this it got me ready to take these sketches to Adobe XD and Illustrator.

Wireframe Sketches



I then sketched out the wireframes for this travel app. Wireframing is an essential part of any project and something I love to do. I like to create various iterations of wirframes both on paper and digitally. For my paper wireframes I sketched them out in marker, making details in pencil to zoom in on what each frame would entail.

Digitising & Development

Iterations and Experimenting

After digitising my coral illustrations, I had to experiment with the design of my app. I tried a various amount of layout ideas, I also trialed out some colour combinations. Making iterations is an essential part of my process, for me making slight changes and comparing to other designs is really helpful to see what is working and what isn't.

I chose the dark navy and orange colour scheme because I felt it was more cohesive and matched my initial under water theme. Even though these trial and errors helped my design along I still hadn't found the perfect outcome.
Homescreen

Designing my homescreen was one of my favourite parts of the app creation. I knew I wanted to make a homepage that only contained my illustrations. This appealed to me because I liked the idea of having an opening introduction for my app. I wanted it to be underwater so the users will know immediately what the app would entail. Using the strong coral illustrations I made first really helped me when creating this, the only part that I really yh ad to think about was layout and making this scene look authentic.
Icons

I made a series of icons for this app. My main goal for these icons was to make them look the same. This meant I had to ensure each line was the same thickness and that their shapes were all the same size. I had to ensure that each icon was big enough so it can be easily used by said user. I made a range of icons, some for navigation and some for button use. I stuck to simple line designs for the theme of these icons, I felt this would match the style of the app and let the illusrtations shine.

Digital Mock ups

Challenges
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The biggest challenge faced during this project was trying to find a good balance between my illustrations and a good user experience. It was hard for me to restrict my illustration ideas, so that the app could be user friendly. I also found that ensuring the icons were all the same weight/size was difficult but rewarding when I felt they were complete and usable.
I also felt that colour was a challenge when designing this app, I believe that colour is what brings this app to life, however, it was difficult to ensure that icons, buttons were seen against the deep underwater shades of blue.
Reflection

Overall, designing this travel app has been one of my favourite projects so far. One of my favourite parts was defiantly the research and development. I loved the idea of trial and error in this project, trying various designs or layouts until I found the right one. I also feel this topic of 'saving the coral reefs', really spurred me on throughout the project. Having a passion for the subject is really important to me, and ensures that I make the best work because it interests me.

The Final Outcome