CUMULUS - UX/UI DESIGN CASE STUDY
mission: design and prototype a weather app interface catered towards a specific niche demographic
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mission: design and prototype a weather app interface catered towards a specific niche demographic
CUMULUS - your daily doze of weather
A personalized weather app used to identify the optimal weather conditions for taking a quick rest outside. Targeted
for those who need a break from their hectic lives to enjoy the outdoors.
USER RESEARCH
I personally like taking naps outside when the weather is nice - I can’t be the only one. In fact, I often see other people out laying in the grass, pulling out their hammocks. So why do they choose to lay outside instead of just going home to their beds? I asked around and this is what I found:
- Feeling the sun and the breeze against your body is relaxing
- The fresh air is refreshing compared to being stuck at home or in school
- During the day, many may need a break but are too busy to go home
Ok, same. So what stops people from resting outside more often?
- People are usually stuck inside for school or work and don’t realize how nice the weather is
- They are too busy to look ahead at the weather and see when may be a good time to take a break
- Sometimes, people just don’t even consider resting outside
So are there actually any positives to sleeping outside or just spending more time outdoors?
Yes! Studies have shown that taking naps or resting outside can improve your sleep quality and eliminate sleepless nights. An increased exposure to natural light and better air quality has great effects on your mental and physical health. So not only is taking a break to rest outside a good stress-reliever, it may benefit your overall health.
MEET TY HERD
With these main takeaways, I constructed a persona to help me understand how I can help the users’ needs using certain features in the app.
LOW-FI’S
I started off with some rough sketches to
get the basic structure for my app down. No details, just a map of what I want to include to see how elements will react with one another.
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MID-FI’S
After sketching, I made wireframes for the main screens for the app first since I wanted to keep my app simple and straightforward. This is helpful to map out the user flow before the actual UI.
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PERSONALIZATION
In order to add that personalization aspect to my app, I constructed a quiz for when the user first downloads the app. The quiz will prompt the user to choose his or her preferred weather conditions and temperature. This will let the app know when to send the user reminders for when the weather is nice, when they should take a break, and even how many hours certain weather conditions will last for.
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BRANDING & UI
The feel I wanted to give off with my app was: friendly, calm, and restful.
In order to portray a sleepy, yet playful vibe, I decided to go with an overall theme of a muted purple and introduce the playfulness through other colours and use of illustration. All the elements in the app are kept simple and are rounded to emphasize the softness of its personality.
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MASCOT
To create the idea of a friend encouraging the user to go outside and take a break, I gave my app a mascot in which the app is named after. A cute, soft cumulus cloud with a face. Cumulus speaks with a casual tone, urging the user to take a nap, get some vitamin d, or look at the stars.
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A personalized weather app used to identify the optimal weather conditions for taking a quick rest outside. Targeted
for those who need a break from their hectic lives to enjoy the outdoors.
USER RESEARCH
I personally like taking naps outside when the weather is nice - I can’t be the only one. In fact, I often see other people out laying in the grass, pulling out their hammocks. So why do they choose to lay outside instead of just going home to their beds? I asked around and this is what I found:
- Feeling the sun and the breeze against your body is relaxing
- The fresh air is refreshing compared to being stuck at home or in school
- During the day, many may need a break but are too busy to go home
Ok, same. So what stops people from resting outside more often?
- People are usually stuck inside for school or work and don’t realize how nice the weather is
- They are too busy to look ahead at the weather and see when may be a good time to take a break
- Sometimes, people just don’t even consider resting outside
So are there actually any positives to sleeping outside or just spending more time outdoors?
Yes! Studies have shown that taking naps or resting outside can improve your sleep quality and eliminate sleepless nights. An increased exposure to natural light and better air quality has great effects on your mental and physical health. So not only is taking a break to rest outside a good stress-reliever, it may benefit your overall health.
MEET TY HERD
With these main takeaways, I constructed a persona to help me understand how I can help the users’ needs using certain features in the app.
LOW-FI’S
I started off with some rough sketches to
get the basic structure for my app down. No details, just a map of what I want to include to see how elements will react with one another.
MID-FI’S
After sketching, I made wireframes for the main screens for the app first since I wanted to keep my app simple and straightforward. This is helpful to map out the user flow before the actual UI.
PERSONALIZATION
In order to add that personalization aspect to my app, I constructed a quiz for when the user first downloads the app. The quiz will prompt the user to choose his or her preferred weather conditions and temperature. This will let the app know when to send the user reminders for when the weather is nice, when they should take a break, and even how many hours certain weather conditions will last for.
BRANDING & UI
The feel I wanted to give off with my app was: friendly, calm, and restful.
In order to portray a sleepy, yet playful vibe, I decided to go with an overall theme of a muted purple and introduce the playfulness through other colours and use of illustration. All the elements in the app are kept simple and are rounded to emphasize the softness of its personality.
MASCOT
To create the idea of a friend encouraging the user to go outside and take a break, I gave my app a mascot in which the app is named after. A cute, soft cumulus cloud with a face. Cumulus speaks with a casual tone, urging the user to take a nap, get some vitamin d, or look at the stars.
