Design Analysis

In this week's blog I thought it would be useful to look at the application designs of my competitors. This will allow me to think about my designs and analyse what already works in the market. “Seeing a colour or thinking about colour produces certain reactions in our mind” (Dmitrieva, 2016) this is something to think about when analysing the designs of these applications. 

SoloLearn

SoloLearn uses a light and pastel colour scheme which implies trust and efficiency. The choice of colour gives users the feeling of calmness. The design of the app is clear and not over complicated. Users can tell what the app is about and what it aims to do from the designs alone. However, when navigating through the app there are an overwhelming about of icons which can take away from the simplicity of the design. The designs once entering the app becoming very complex with too much on the page making it confusing to users to know where to start and what to click.  

 

Mimo 

Mimo uses a monochromatic colour scheme with different variations of the shades. The colour palette gives users the feeling of engagement. The use of imagery across the app is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and fits within the gamification approach. The visual hierarchy in the design navigates users on what to click on and where to start as the other boxes are greyed out. The monochromatic colour scheme make not appeal to all users and may make the app look and feel dull.

Codecademy Go 

Codecademy Go's colour palette matches the existing website to create unity across the platforms. The use of consistency is good for the branding and users can recognise the app from the website. The visual alignment is appealing to users and make the design look flawless. On the other hand, Codecademy uses a wide colour palette which could reduce consistency as users may think the branding as been updated from the primary colours. 

In conclusion, when reflecting on my designs the bright and vibrant colour palette is ideal for my design as it implies creativity and stands out on a mobile home screen against other applications. Going forward I think more work and refinement on the wireframes and application designs would be useful and getting some expert advice and feedback from a designer would help improve the design of my application. 

Bibliography: 

Dmitrieva, O. 2016. Colour Assiciations. [Online]. Russia: Tomsk State University. [Accessed 7th January 2020]. Available from: https://www.colormatters.com/media/pdf/Color_Associations.pdf

Mimohello GmbH. 2019. Mimo: Learn to Code. (version 4.1) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 2nd January 2020]. 

Ryzac, Inc. 2019. Codecademy Go (version 1.9) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 2nd January 2020].

SoloLearn Inc. 2019. SoloLearn: Learn to Code. (version 3.1.0) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 2nd  January 2020].