Wilson Seet, Tomas Garcia, Coleman Kisicki, and Mandy Widner

To start in our design process, we compiled the results of our individual observations of time into an Empathy Map pictured below. This allowed us to visualize the common threads in our experiences in time and create many possible avenues for creation.

Next, we used these combined observations to develop some potential questions to develop solutions for. This collection of "How Might We?" questions is pictured below. 

Using these questions as starting locations, we picked the ones we most resonated with and found the common thread between them. This formed our final problem statement.

The next step in our design process was to begin creating ideas. Beginning with an individual brainstorming session, the results of our first round of ideation are shown below. 

We then discussed these ideas with each other and moved into a stage of forced connections. We randomly placed two ideas together and developed creative solutions that incorporated both ideas. 

This exercise in forcing connections between ideas gave us a good idea on what it was that we wanted to develop. We selected the three ideas that stood out to us the most and wrote brief descriptions of each. As we worked through this process, one idea in particular stood out to us as marked below.

Next came paper prototyping which consisted of a collection of individual sketches of various stages within the app. These sketches are pictured below.

After reviewing these initial designs as a group, we discussed the similarities between them and decided to move onto the digital prototyping stage. We had reached a consensus on the general feel and flow of the app, but what needed to be solidified was the final aesthetic of the app. This was the focus in our digital prototyping. The designs were created in Adobe XD. See the links below each design for interactive previews as well as a summary of feedback from user testing.

https://xd.adobe.com/view/a34608fa-f5a6-47f9-aac8-3f935d65fc20-f615/?fullscreen

Summary of user feedback: For this first prototype, the way in which the animation was structured with the photo was strange and the background landscape was too vague and distant.

https://xd.adobe.com/view/40c266c5-521a-4baf-95b1-b7c1ffa68dba-1591/?fullscreen

Summary of user feedback: This design was clean but possibly a bit basic. It covered the onboarding of the app well, but lacked a structure for the building construction. The interactivity was effective. 

https://xd.adobe.com/view/f6dbd794-a123-4933-8a82-7882c8ae6892-a388/?fullscreen

Summary of user feedback: This design gave a good layout for a possible task list but was less successful in the aesthetic. It had an interesting incremental design, but it was less appealing than other prototypes.

https://xd.adobe.com/view/3fd5959f-b8bd-411a-bb0e-f779cfd60656-6a86/

Summary of user feedback: The scrollable feature in the city is very interesting and effective. It allows for a feeling of infinite space for progression. The green and red bar read very harsh.

https://xd.adobe.com/view/b94dcd01-7d80-4a8c-a638-f9e81287ecff-ec1e/

Summary of user feedback: (see Prototype 4 feedback) The text is less harsh than the colored bar. 

This final prototype was an additional feature for the connective element of the design and was not user tested.

The production of the final solution came from combining the most effective features of various prototype designs. We determined that the onboarding design from Prototype 1 combined with the city building structure from Prototypes 4 and 5. The challenge was then to merge the aesthetics of these two separate designs into a cohesive and effective final solution. 

https://xd.adobe.com/view/65e4c2b0-2a8f-4a6e-9f28-432bcd4508e4-30b7/?fullscreen

This application attempts to alter the user's perception of time by rewarding them with progress based achievements as they dedicate time to productivity. The time spent on a task will be measured only by the progression of the various buildings and not by any numerical measures of time. This intends to have the effect of disassociating numerical time with anxiety in regard to productivity. 

The title of the application is Cresco. This is a Latin work that loosely translates to "grow." The use of this as the title gives a positive connotation to the experience of the app. Its intention is to have a positive effect on the user, and the title is meant to reflect that. 

The use of blue in this design is meant to be calming. While the user is interacting with the app directly, this calming effect caused by the color blue should ease the user into the experience with the app and into productivity. While the building is under construction, the colors shift to a more urban color pallet. This is to give a sense of distance between the user and the app and place their focus back onto the real world. 

If this application were to be further developed there are various features that we would like to add and various design decisions that we would seek to refine.

The first addition would be a wider range of themes. This would make the app more tailored to individuals and allow for more personal connections to the app. Another addition would be a networking feature that would make the app connectable to other users. This could have applications that range from friends looking out for each other to teachers creating a more exciting way to foster productivity. We would also add a larger space for buildings to be placed and more options on types of buildings. 

Elements that we would seek to refine would begin with the general aesthetic. Our focus in this project was the structure, so the visual design of the app was less developed than we would have hoped. In addition to this, the transitions and hover animations could be smoothed out. Next, the way in which the building is built would need to be tailored to the unique time that the user is being productive with a certain task. In our prototype, a sample time-lapse animation was shown, but the intension would be that the user could control the start and the stop of the production of the buildings.