Introduction
For this project, the main goal is to build a single-view, interactive mobile app on the iOS platform. There is no assigned topic or purpose for this app — everything is left up to me! However, the overall scope of the app needs to be more in-depth than the simple labs we’ve created so far this semester, complete with a launch screen and app icons, and responsive on all supported devices configurations.
Description, Inspiration & Purpose
My iOS app (name coming soon) will allow users to explore Boulder, Colorado in creative and fun ways, based on the amount of time they have available, their interests, and budget. Users can input information to customize their experience, then click a button to have the app generate an activity to do or a local place to explore.
I came up with this app for a few different reasons. First, as a Resident Advisor at CU, I’ve made bulletin boards in the past for my new residents (like the one below) that feature various places to explore, since many of my residents are from out-of-state or may be unfamiliar with the area. While the bulletin board below focuses on outdoor activities, I want my app to have options for everyone, so the activity suggestions will be more diverse.
In addition, part of the inspiration for my app came from my desire to explore more parts of Boulder and find everything that the area has to offer. Even though I’ve lived here for three years already, I know there is a lot more discover, and it would be cool to have a dedicated app for generating new ideas about how to spend time here.
Last, I love planning trips to other areas and cities, but it can be hard to know which places to explore if you’ve never been somewhere before. I intend for my app to be geared towards travelers as well as locals, making it easier to explore in Boulder for people who are new to the area. As I described above, users will be able to choose their priorities and preferences for what kinds of activities they want to do and places they want to see, so that the app will generate suggestions just for them.
When I was trying to refine my idea, I was inspired by brochures and newsletters that I’ve seen at places like national parks, with “Things to Do” suggestions based on how much time you have to explore the area. I’ve included a screenshot of one of these below. As you can see, the guide has ideas for activities that take around 2 hours, 3-5 hours, or longer. I always liked these types of guides, because they make it very easy to decide what to do!
So, overall, the goal of my app is to be a simple idea generator for exploring Boulder and the surrounding area, based on user preferences and limitations.
Intended Audience
As detailed above, my intended audience is anyone living in Boulder or traveling to Boulder who wants to explore the area, but doesn’t know what they should do. People traveling to Boulder can use the app to help brainstorm or plan out their trip, and people already living in Boulder can use the app if they have an empty afternoon or weekend and need something to fill it with!
By entering a few simple pieces of information, users can receive personalized suggestions for how they should spend their time, whether they are residents or visiting out-of-towners. As I’ll detail below, there are a few services out there already with trip-planning suggestions (most notably, TripAdvisor, AirBnB and Yelp), but the amount of options and information can be overwhelming sometimes. By using my app, users will only receive one generated idea at a time to reduce information overload, but ideally, all of the suggestions will be customized to fit the user’s criteria (amount of time, budget, and interests).
Research
As I’ve mentioned above, there are a few different apps and services that already exist in the realm of trip planning and suggestions for different areas. However, they all have restrictions that I hope my app will help to avoid. I think the biggest competitors for an app like the one I’ve designed would be dedicated trip-planning services like AirBnB, TripAdvisor, Eventbrite, Expedia, and Yelp (which all have mobile apps available).
Now, these services are great in a lot of ways, and I use them all the time to help with trip planning, but they do have some restrictions. The biggest one for me is probably just that they have so many options, and it can be overwhelming to sift through all of the information. Many of them have filters to sort through content, but this doesn’t significantly minimize the absurd amount of great options that are out there. For people who are decision-challenged like me, this can present a problem. I hope that since my app will only generate one idea at a time, it will be less overwhelming for the user while presenting them with options that fit their needs.
Additionally, often when I do find something that sounds like a good fit for me, I make the mistake of reading user reviews. No matter how incredible an option might be, I tend to run across at least one negative review that makes me start to second-guess my decision. The suggestions on my app will be free of information overload, both in the sheer amount of options available from other services and the complexities of user reviews that often conflict one another.
Furthermore, none of these resources really encompass all of the options out there. For example, AirBnB depends on revenue from people booking through the app, so it prioritizes places to stay and experiences hosted by locals, which all cost money. These can be great, but they leave out many free options that you can do on your own (for a Boulder example, walking down Pearl Street or hiking in Chautauqua). TripAdvisor is slightly better about this, but even when you click something like “Outdoor Activities,” most of the options are guided experiences that cost money or require booking (see screenshot below). Yes, I know I took a screenshot of the website instead of the app, but the experiences are similar. 🙂
There are other dedicated apps out there that are specialized to (free) activities like hiking, climbing, etc., but I haven’t really found anything that both offers a range of different experiences and keeps things simple, so that’s the experience I’m hoping my app will provide.
Now, I’d like to emphasize that I don’t think my app can (or should) replace the trip planning apps mentioned above. As I’ve said myself, those services are crucial when you need to sort through all the options or make nuanced decisions about how to spend your time, and I am a happy user of many of them. However, my app will be a simpler, fun option for situations when you just want a quick suggestion of what to do in the Boulder area, without having to take a lot of time to research and weigh different options. If you don’t like the suggestion the app generates, you can just complete the process again and change your preferences to get a new idea! Easy and simple.
Content
Most of the content for this app will come from my own experience and research, including descriptions, directions, and images. I also plan on drawing some inspiration from an event put on by Cotopaxi called Questival, which features all kinds of challenges and activities to do in the Boulder area (photo examples below). The event is all about exploring your city in new ways and trying things you wouldn’t normally, which is right in line with the goal of my app!
Paper Prototype
Essentially, the User Interface of my app should be pretty simple. The first screen will be a data input screen where the user can input preferences for budget, how much time they have, and what they are interested in, as well as what season it currently is.
Then, once the user clicks the “Let’s Go” button, they will receive a result of an activity to do in the Boulder area (including Denver and surrounding areas). Below are two examples of what this result screen could look like. In the first, the user can click the back “Restart” button to return to the first screen and redo the process. In the second example, there would be a more obvious “New idea” button that would do the same action of returning the user to the first screen, so that the user can generate a new idea.
If the user likes the idea that has been generated for them, they can click on the “Directions” button, which will open the Apple Maps or Google Maps app with directions to the activity (I think this should be doable, but have to look into it).
During the first feedback session, I want to see which “result” screen my user testers prefer. Right now, I prefer the big “Next Idea” button, but the back button might be more natural for iOS users.
nate bennett 