Outdoors United
In The Beginning...
This was my final project with The Iron Yard. The Idea came about some time ago. While planning a camping trip to Davy Crocket National Forest. Even though it was me and one other person, I found it difficult just getting started. Who was going to bring what? When were we going to be able go? Is that the only place between the two of us that we can go?
I had been thinking of a suitable topic for my final project when it came to me that I had wished for app that could do just that and with my new found skills, I could do it myself. So now the easy part was over and the real work began.
The Research...
I find that before putting code to computer the research phase is the most important and often times most overlooked portion part of the process.
In my research I completed a SWOT Analysis. For this I analyzed the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for a sight such as this.
After That I moved on to My User Personas. I use Polarized Personas when I do this so that by seeing many points of view I can design a product that meets the needs of many.
User Stories help me get an idea of process flow and what my site will actually need to do in order to meet the requirements I set.
The Design...
After the research was completed I moved on to the design portion of the project. Always beginning with a pen and a sketchbook. This is a good way of getting a general vibe for your overall layout without actually committing to it. After that I moved on to Wireframing and and Style Tiles. Finally, after I had a good Idea my color palette and design I moved on to Mockups. This is about as close as you can get to the real thing with out actually coding in stone. All Wireframes, Style Tiles and Mockups were completed in Illustrator.
The Results...
The in the end I believe I turned out a visually appealing and practically useful project. That along with being visually appealing, any project has be practical. The challenges in the project were many. There is never enough time, but you have to make it work anyway. Keeping a steady schedule helped with time management and also keeping my eye on the MVP and not trying to add what wasn’t necessary. Using Trello was a big help in that endeavor. Checkout The Live Site or See it on Github.
