I created a series of different initial sketches on paper. I didn’t have any idea on what to make the interface look like and felt quite lost at the start, so I sketched out a we range of different designs to see if anything stuck. I found this process very helpful, as when I sketched out a design I wasn't sure about, I identified what I liked and dislikes about it and used this to build a stronger version.
I started off by doing some quick sketches immediately after our class where we did the logical conections and I came up with my idea. I decided to do this because Inwanted to sketch mindlessly to really come up with as many ideas as possible, as I feel that if I left it a while to sketch, I may have some ideas in mind already and then be biased to them in my sketching. Seeing there different ideas on paper, I didn’t really like any of them too much, but I did enjoy aspects of the first one, featuring a progress ring. I decided to take some inspiration from this and build upon it when I next sketched ideas for this project.
As my smartwatch app is about hydration, it felt only right to encoperate blues into my colour scheme. Initially, I admittedly got a bit carried away with wanting to make my colour scheme the focus on the app. Below is the colour palette I initially worked with and made my first draft based off. Looking back, I can see that this colour palette isn’t inherently bad, but there are dininatley a range of downfalls that I want to address so that my next version can be stronger.
To begin with, the top two colours are extremely similar, and I dont see any reason that I could need two colours that look exactly the same. Perhaps on a mobile interface slight differences may be noticable, however, smartwatch screens are so small and not as vibrant as a device with adjustable brightness and colour settings, so subtle differences like below will go unnoticed. Furthermore, I feel that having two close shades of dark blue could be interpreted as laziness, inconsistency and a lack of actually having a colour pallete as opposed to a design choice.
I think the most notable downfall of my initial approach to colour was the use of a pretty strong gradient. I initially wanted to use this for the background of each screen and did so in my first draft interface. However, some further research led me to discover that many smartwatches don’t approve of apps which use plain black/standard colour backgrounds, and there majority either disapprove completely or have very strict regulations on them. This led me to two options: using a referent background and revising my colour scheme, or continuing to use my gradient background, as this is for prototype purpose only so the detains dont matter.
I opted for changing my background gradient to a solid, dark colour. Although I liked my gradient outcome, I really want to make this as realistic as possible to strengthen my design skills as a designer- I won’t be able to forgoe industry standards in the workplace, so why should I do so now? Furthermore, I always strive to focus on the audience as part of my project, and gradient/bright background on smart watches can have a significant impact on battery life. which isnt something I would want users to be faced with.
Final Primary Colours
A personal ambition in this project is to make a smartwatch app that is accessible for a wide range of people. Therefore, I wanted to ensure that accessibility was enhances through clear visual grammar, a key aspect of which is typography. I did some research on smartwatch apps. I went with SF compact is this is the reccoended font from Apple for Apple Watch applications. Furthermore, hierarchy is ma major aspect of visual grammar as I want to ensure that all written consent is clearly readable but not overwhelming in size. Again, I turned to Apples official guidelines for this for reliable and tested reccomendations, which suggests minimum of 12px. I debated using 16px, however, I want my app to rely on components and visuals and avoid looking too text heavy, as this could negatively impact glanceability. To ensure readability and good visual hierarchy, I decided to use medium weight as my standard typeface.
