We were introduced to our first project with Kyle in week 1 which he explained that we would be designing six smartwatch screens which would be showcasing any content we like, money, health, safety, etc. This project is relatively short and will only take 3 weeks to complete and we we began my mind-mapping and sketches.
When began our research within class and it started off with mind-mapping ideas of content that could be shown with our smartwatch screens. We had some content ideas such as health, safety, money, education and more and we were told to take one or two ideas and write down anything that came to mind about the idea we picked and if something reminded you of that branch out from that too. I picked safety and education however, I struggled with this mind-map and was often times stuck with what to write, so this lead to my mind-maps looking quite empty and small when comparing to other peoples mind-maps. Kyle then had us make links within our points to create content ideas we could show in our screen designs. I found this quite useful and despite how poorly I though my mind-maps were, i was still able to make links and create content ideas that I could use. After looking at both mind-maps and taking some time to consider which idea to choose, I picked safety as I felt more interested in that and felt as though I had more content ideas to pick from and I feel it is an issue with that I struggle with daily and these ideas and what I would personally like to see, to make me feel more safe.
I had started three of my sketches within class and with the use of my mind-map I had my first idea of the distress alarm to start off with as my first sketch. I wanted this design to be simple as I knew that the focus would be on the alarm blaring from the watch rather than the design however, it still had to have some basic design elements. I started by researching some speaker icons as it was relevant to what the watch was doing and found some typical speaker icons which would of worked however, I wanted something that represented the unsettling noise that would be blaring so changed the simple lines coming from the speaker to crooked ones. I then added some rings around the icon which I want to have varying in colour shade to give off the appearance that the sound is echoing out. Lastly, I wanted a small bit of text at the bottom which explains to the wearer how to deactivate the alarm by simply using their thumbprint on the side button.
For my second sketch I designed a map with icons scattered around which will show the wearer their friends location and if they are in distress, which will be signalled by using the distress alarm. If one of your friends is in distress a ring will appear around their icon making it stand out with a text box appearing above it with their exact location. I will also give this design two screens with one showcasing the sketch I have made and the second one bringing up the option to either call the friend who is in distress or call 999.
The third sketch is for fake call audios which will give the wearer a selection of audios to chose from which will allow for them to seem as though they have a partner or sibling who is waiting up for them and making it seem like them don’t live alone and are expected to be home shortly. Each audio will have a title of who it is they are supposedly having a call with and how long the audio is. Also, when you click on one of the audio a dropbox will appear with a script of what the audio is going to say as well as what your response should be to make it seem more realistic.
The fourth sketch was inspired by some of the research I conducted into other safety apps, more specifically Sister by Wave Application S.L., who had a recording function when their was signalled the device would begin to record the audio will the alarm was stopped. I thought this was a brilliant idea and so I created a screen which would showcase all the recordings of anytime the alarm was triggered. Each box showcases the day of the recording, how long the recording is as well as an audio bar which would allow the wearer to jump back and forth through the recording.
For the fifth sketch I wanted to have a reminder appear on the screen, reminding you to check your surroundings. This design is based off my own experiences as I love taking long walks especially at nights which is already a dangerous thing to do however, I also listen to music as well at full volume which is very unsafe. This reminder will only appear when the watch is aware that you are walking at night and if the wearer is listening to music, it will pause it for a minute to give the wearer time to check their surrounding, making sure they are safe.