Jaka/Matt Final Essay

Matt and I have created a web site called UrbanFeat. It started off as a business plan that is now developing further into an actual real business. Having said that, we were locked onto some of the web site features, logos, pictures, functions..., so we tried to make the best out of what we had available.

Going through the bulletpoints.

1. We were aiming for a simple, easy to use web site with clear and comprehensive links. The idea of UrbanFeat is complicated enough so users have to be presented with an easy to use interface. Having that in mind, the sites links are suppose to be comprehensive and easy to follow. Also, one of the design choices was not to have too many links on the site that could confuse the user, but make it as straightforward and small as possible. UrbanFeat web site is suppose to attract contracted venues that are using UrbanFeat services as well as smartphone application users that are looking to expand their experience with UrbanFeat. Demographics should be mostly younger generation under 30 years old. Hopefully web site users will see UrbanFeat as an easy to use web site with a certain purpose and goal to help venues and users connect and benefit from each other. The picture in the background is suppose to make people wonder what's happening behind the corner. And that's what UrbanFeat is all about.
2.  The site does not have a lot of images yet (and probably never will)! The reason for that is since pictures cost you time on loading. More pictures, more loading time for the user. UrbanFeat experience is suppose to be painless and easy which means fast loading times. Having said that we've decided to keep pictures to a minimum. There will be more pictures being uploaded when the company starts selling advertisement space. If we take a look at the background picture, it is serving it's purpose. It needs to trigger curiosity in users as well as make them want to explore unknown streets and places. The colors are pretty diverse, with a lot of bright colors (red, orange, light blue) that are relaxing and happy.
3. Fonts and sizes are still being discussed and in the process of being changed to something a bit more creative. The Layout was intended to be simple with easy instructions and to enable users to be able to search around the site fast and with confidence of knowing where they are headed. The menu is simple with just a couple of links that dig deeper into the site (including "log in" button). We see Groupon as one of our biggest competitors and we were sort of moving into the same layout of the site but making it a bit smaller and more comprehensive. Groupon's menu has a pretty big selection options with a lot of sub-menu links. Our web site was suppose to be simpler! Otherwise we used the same style, menu up top with a login button on top right annd the main content in the middle.
4. One of the main challenges in this project was definitely developing an alpha version (for now) of an Android application. One of the biggest struggles for me was on the research side and not on the technical as many would expect. It was hard to find a lot of reliable research on push notifications technology, as well as integrating required material into an actual app. Having solve that was mostly just designing and testing, with divide and conquer algorithm, which means that we divided the problem into a lot of smaller problems and then try to solve them individually with trying and testing possible solutions until one of them worked. The second thing I would point out was a design and layout problem. How to position things and where to put the main menu to make users as comfortable as possible. This is problem that can't really be solved for good.
5. UrbanFeat web site is used as a tool in services UrbanFeat provides which means that venues are in need to use our web site in order to experience what they are paying for. In other words venues have to log in twice a week to send out push notifications to users which will generate a constant amount of visitors. Also, users will be able to extend their experience through the web site that will offer the same services as our application. Once UrbanFeat will reach a critical amount of application users, through aggressive marketing strategies, they will exponentially grow and so will our web site visitors.

In conclusion I would like to say that this was a great project on which I personally learned a lot from. I enjoyed the class a lot and would definitely recommend it to other students.