In my time at Tovarna idej I got a project whose goal was to connect people with one another who would look for partners in different activities. In example, you wanted to play tennis but your usual team mates didn't have time - so you posted an activity in the app and soon someone with a racket and some spare time would get in touch with you.
Along with the concept of the app we also had the task of naming it and designing the logo.
The name + logo
The idea behind the name and logo was creating something youthful that represents connecting and community.
We named it "yea!" for the pure positivity and engagement it associates. A user will post something and if another user sees something appealing they'll say "yea! I'll join"!
The logo was going to end up at the center of the app, so it needed to stand out, be simple and say to the user "this is where you can connect".
The app
Because the brief for the app was basically just "posting activities so people could connect" we first made a list of functionalities and target groups and aligned them with the client, so everyone would be on the same page.
Next, basic mockups followed; this is the logical next step, because one doesn't want to forget any details or functionalities - and once you're at the final design stage it's causing a lot more complications (if that happens at the development stage you might want to get nunchucks).
With these mockups we created an interactive prototype using Invision; that way we (and the client gets the final version) can see if the flow of the app makes sense and if there are any roads leading nowhere.
An idea crystallized in the design process: we wanted every category of the post to be immediately recognizable to make it easier on the users. We achieved this by giving every category their own colour.
When we were happy with the mockups and their flow, we began the design process - and the final design turned out like this:
It was one of the first apps I got to design from beginning to end with ideas I picked up on the way. This is why I still like it, probably. Well, that and the pretty colours : )