10 – Guru’s Day

So, on Tuesday we finally hosted our guru’s day, where professionals from different industries would give some advice and tips on how to get the best out of our projects.

My gurus were:

Madeline Wilson

Steve McKenna

Lynsey Brownlow

Steve Birnie

Obviously, I had spoken to Craig Lamb the day before, which you can read about here.

The first person I spoke to was Madeline, who is currently working with Glasgow based clothing company, Trakke, where she is the Product Designer and Studio Manager.

She explained that she was a keen mountain climber and was recently out in Spain doing just that. She understood how important getting out into open spaces was for you mental health.

Madeline gave some pointers which were:

  • Think about where my app starts, before the user is aware of my app, where they would find out about it.
  • Maybe having a prompt/GPS feature when walking which would encourage the user to record their journey.
  • Also think about how the app looks and what the user would perceive it to be.

Next up was Mike McKenna, who is the Lead UX Designer at WRLD Ltd, who are based in Dundee.

Mike was currently in the navigation industry, where he makes useful 3D maps which bring a level of detail that other map providers currently don’t.

He gave me some interesting advice also:

  • Look at game mechanics, since in my app there is a way to ‘master’ walking in a way and it would be helpful to briefly investigate this area.
  • Journey mapping the user’s journey, whether that be my Mothers Journey, a walking group or going on a walk myself.
  • Go and speak to Dundee walking clubs.
  • Do a bit more user research.

After a bit of waiting, Lynsey Brownlow walked up to me next, and she is currently Senior User Experience Consultant at AmazeRealise, who are based in Edinburgh.

We mainly spoke about the previous points raised, but she drew something which gave me a insight into how she and her company approach design problems.

And then right before lunch, Steve Birnie caught me to have a quick chat. Steve is Consultant Industrial Designer at NCR Corporation, who are also based in Dundee.

Again, he spoke about gamifying the app and looking into how Strava have a social platform that makes users compete. He suggested I should look at how my app differentiates from these apps and what it offers the people who are wanting back into outdoor spaces.

So, on Tuesday we finally hosted our guru’s day, where professionals from different industries would give some advice and tips into how to get the best out of our projects.

My gurus were:

Madeline Wilson

Steve McKenna

Lynsey Brownlow

Steve Birnie

Obviously, I had spoken to Craig Lamb the day before.

The first person I spoke to was Madeline, who is currently working with Glasgow based clothing company, Trakke, where she is the Product Designer and Studio Manager.

She explained that she was a keen mountain climber and was recently out in Spain doing just that. She understood how important getting out into open spaces was for you mental health.

Madeline gave some pointers which were:

  • Think about where my app starts, before the user is aware of my app, where they would find out about it.
  • Maybe having a prompt/GPS feature when walking which would encourage the user to record their journey.
  • Also think about how the app looks and what the user would perceive it to be.

Next up was Mike McKenna, who is the Lead UX Designer at WRLD Ltd, who are based in Dundee.

Mike was currently in the navigation industry, where he makes useful 3D maps which bring a level of detail that other map providers currently don’t.

He gave me some interesting advice also:

  • Look at game mechanics, since in my app there is a way to ‘master’ walking in a way and it would be helpful to briefly investigate this area.
  • Journey mapping the user’s journey, whether that be my Mothers Journey, a walking group or going on a walk myself.
  • Go and speak to Dundee walking clubs.
  • Do a bit more user research.

After a bit of waiting, Lynsey Brownlow walked up to me next, and she is currently Senior User Experience Consultant at AmazeRealise, who are based in Edinburgh.

We mainly spoke about the previous points raised, but she drew something which gave me a insight into how she and her company approach design problems.

And then right before lunch, Steve Birnie caught me to have a quick chat. Steve is Consultant Industrial Designer at NCR Corporation, who are also based in Dundee.

Again, he spoke about gamifying the app and looking into how Strava have a social platform that makes users compete. He suggested I should look at how my app differentiates from these apps and what it offers the people who are wanting back into outdoor spaces.