mysteriouscarrot

[mysteriouscarrot]

Week 8 and really the last full week of the bootcamp!!

Well Week 8 started well trying to unpick the client's brain and manage his expectations by putting in some clear boundaries.

Our team (Julie, Aziz andd myself) got off to a good start - marching ahead with as many interviews as possible asap!

By mid-week the client was back on control mode and we needed to once keep him at bay but all was nothing we couldnt manage.

Looking forward to cracking on with the project this week and hopefully going out with a bang! It will be emotional as it has been a fun few weeks and I've really enjoyed meeting a host of new people. Who I now consider apart of my new tech family :)

However, at the same time we cant loose light of what is happening in the rest of the world right now.

[mysteriouscarrot]

End of the solo project

Week 7 and the end of the solo week!

It was a very busy week trying to get my project finalised with a 20 page design report and a presentation.

Mid weekend was busy trying to move from paper to mid-fid. However, from mid-fid to high I had too many mental blocks. But with extra help from TA Dani I was able to get over my hurdles and with very little sleep present a high-fid prototype. One thing I took away from this project is the fact that creating the mobile version of the App came very quickly, reinforcing all that we have learnt over the last few weeks.

We ended this week by connecting with our team (Aziz and Julie) and the client for the Final Project - Daktika

[mysteriouscarrot]

BLOG FOR WEEK 6

Week 6 and the end is near..

Week one of the solo project, B2B SaaS Web App. Having used such software in the workplace over the years and having been key to its internal implementation I understood the importance of such software within a business environment.

The beginning of the week started well with numerous interviews understanding all the different types of Saas Web Apps used across all the different industries. I so easily could have slipped into going down the route of legal services. However, I didn’t want to do that. So after the interviews I started to do some further research into the property management sector and look into this further.

At the end of the day all of these software programs do more or less the same thing - its all about efficiency and being organised. As the week went on its been back to paper prototyping and design crits. I sense this forthcoming week is going to be short and intense especially with having to present everything to external designers on Thursday! Wish me luck 😊

[mysteriouscarrot]

Blog for Week 5 – “Theres an App for That”

The scope for this week’s group project was very wide which made it quite exciting. We found out our team members were going to be the Friday before and I had not worked with either Aziz or Mireia previously but had got to know them over the last few weeks and was very excited to have the opportunity to work with both of them.

From the outset I made sure we had a clear (but ambitious) project plan. This was incredibly helpful during the week to check in and assess what we had outstanding and what had been achieved.

We hit our first challenge of the week on Monday when Mireia unfortunately was unwell and unable to be with us in person. However, she was very sweet and fully trusted both Aziz and I to continue with the project and the decisions we made. It was also an insight as to how we could possibly be working in the future with team members being remote. This was also an opportunity to delegate tasks which Mireia could concentrate on such as the UI inventory.

We also made sure we used FigJam to upload all the interviews and different flows we had so that Mireia was kept upto date and aware of what was going on with the project. It was a very good way to document everything especially since the project evolved a number of times in one day and something which I will try to also adopt for all my projects in the future.

By Thursday Mireia was able to return in person and we try to finalise our project. However, Nevan thought we may have over complicated our project by having featuritius and was kind enough to offer us an extension due to the extenuating circumstances. As a team we discussed this and decided we wanted to try and hand it in at the same time as everyone else. This was a good motivator and also made us go back to the Brief and our Problem Statement and simplifier our App inline with the guidelines of the project.

We were able to present with everyone else and as a team we were very proud of what we achieved within the timeframe and without having to lose too much sleep. I made really made me appreciated having a good project plan is very important.

[mysteriouscarrot]

4 weeks down and 5 to go!

Starting week four was a great week with user research being the project of the week and doing a mid fidelity wire framing. Something I enjoy and felt confident with working on. However as the week went on the planning went out of the window.  Whilst I had planned to have everything done by Thursday pm & hoped to be prepping my presentation by Thursday afternoon so I had the whole rest of the evening to work on making sure I was able to do everything in the six minutes allocated.

The reality is that I ended up spending considerably  longer on Figma and ended up not starting my actual presentation a little later than anticipated which all in all affected my Friday final project presentation.

I know what I need to do next time - planning my time is key so I could have actually completed the whole project to a higher standard.

Roll on week 5 - am looking forward to the team projectsthis week.

[mysteriouscarrot]

Week 3 - Travel Apps

Carrying out a Team Project this week reminded me of something from The Apprentice TV programme.

It felt like emotions were running high in the classroom this week (particularly during design crits) but the final presentations looked great by all the groups which was nice to see.

Whilst we were all working the same project (creating a travel app) everyone was really helpful at giving constrictive feedback – especially when the app didn’t make sense.

My team was also great to work with / everyone brought different skills to the table which we were able to combine really and complete the project without too much stress. Obviously, having a Figma wizz in the group is always a bonus 😊

[mysteriouscarrot]

Week 3

Carrying out a Team Project this week reminded me of something from The Apprentice TV programme.

It felt like emotions were running high in the classroom this week (particularly during design crits) but the final presentations looked great by all the groups which was nice to see.

Whilst we were all working the same project (creating a travel app) everyone was really helpful at giving constrictive feedback – especially when the app didn’t make sense.

My team was also great to work with / everyone brought different skills to the table which we were able to combine really and complete the project without too much stress. Obviously, having a Figma wizz in the group is always a bonus 😊

[mysteriouscarrot]

Week 2 - Figma Fun

Week 2 was all about Figma Fun and definitely felt more about UX/UI design.

There was a lot to digest and having the task of creating a new feature was challenging but fun at the same time. Doing this expands my creativity!

At times it was hard to do a solo project as I feel projects are more about teamwork. My IronHack team did give me a lot of input, as did my family too who helped by letting me work and listening to me (they requested this shout out and do actually deserve it as well!) .

In general, I have to admit it has been a struggle waking up early every morning but it has been worth it. Also I love seeing that my paper prototypes have inspired my daughter and her best friend create their own paper iPhones this week - the next UX designers!

Roll on Week 3 Challenges!!!

[mysteriouscarrot]

iOS v Android patterns

Even with the exercise we did in Week 2 of the course it became evident that mobile navigation is different for iOS and Androids. Something, which I had not given much or any thought to previously, pimarily because I`ve always been an iOS user.

However, its evident in the UX/UI world this imperative for the purposes of mobile navigation and ensuring the user has an optimal experience.

Something simple as a navigation tab bar would be placed in different parts of the page depending which device you are using :

The fact that there are new sizes of mobiles continuously entering the market keeps designers needing to be creative with new solutions for navigation. Moving things from the top to the bottom is an option but might be effect within all Apps.

When looking at interaction design patterns between iOS and Android it is interesting how an App such as LinkedIn can vary on a simple action such as returning to the previous page an action which is inline with the desktop version.

However, uniformity is also very important and a app such as Instagram with all its users is a perfect example of this:

Swiping has become a universal gesture particularly when it is thought that kids are born today swiping. Have you seen the popular video of a toddler who tries to swipe a book because that’s what they know from their parents phone or tablet? If not, definitely worth a watch and something to think about for the future UX/UI design because they are the next generation we will be designing for.

[mysteriouscarrot]

Week 1 as one of the Squidberries

I have to admit it has been quite some time since I have been a classroom as a student. 

Week 1 of the bootcamp has flown by and has definitely been a brain exploding experience.   Especially with all the new coding literature which we have learnt,  something which was a foreign language to me. However, now I am feeling a little excited to explore some CSS on my own :) 

That aside, it has also been amazing to meet all my fellow bootcampers who I will be taking this journey with. It is so great to hear of all the different journeys everyone has been on to come here and join together for this bootcamp. So looking forward week 2 and seeing what is in store for us. 

[mysteriouscarrot]

Day 1 of the Bootcamp

I must say day has not disappointed!

It has been a very long time since I have been in a classroom and had such an structured timetable (ever toilet breaks are scheduled!). However, I must say it was quite enjoyable to kick start that brain and get it working again.

Putting myself outside of my comfort zone is not something I enjoy, normally I would run a mile. Starting this boot camp is definitely something outside of my comfort zone but I am here to embrace it!

Thanks to the teaching team who have kept us engaged all day.

Roll on Day 2!

[mysteriouscarrot]

A new journey

I must admit entering the tech world is really a new journey for me! I never had a Tumblr account in the past and truly believe in the old school way of doing things with a pen and paper.

However, having worked in the legal field for the last 20 years, something which never really excited me, I have decided to make the leap and actually embrace the tech industry by enrolling on the UX UI boot camp.

I have not been a student for a very long time and am excited to be starting this new journey in 2022!