Final Feedback Crit

People seemed to respond well to the app and particularly liked the way it wasn't too babyish and respected high schoolers as young adults. Being fairly close to high school age it was good to here positive responses to the retro style of the app. They also suggested the concept was good and had hit a gap in the market with such an alternative approach.

However some of the people suggested that the black could be too intimidating for high schoolers, although some thought this worked well for the serious nature of the app. Of course the app is trying to help all issues in high school, not just serious problems but embarrassing ones too. So we discussed perhaps altering the app design so it could eventually change in accordance to the category of the issue. For example if the user dipped into the 'mental health' section, the colours could get a bit darker in order for it to remain serious. I think this could in fact be counter intuitive as the user doesn't want things to seem darker at this point, maybe the colours should turn softer in order to show compassion. The colours could also be respondent to the emotion rating given at the beginning of the app. E.g. once you've rated yourself as a 1, the rest of the app screens are shown in a dark blue colour. Not only does this add more colour to the app but it also incorporates the projection concept further with the rest of the features, making the program cohesive. Similar to this, someone asked if maybe the falling blocks of the projection could be animated within the app, giving another connection to the projection aspect.

There may be an issue with the app where many more people ask questions than answer them. Perhaps there could be an algorithm that means you have to answer a question if you've already asked one.

One major issue that was raised was that the app itself might not be popular with the schools. It doesn't show the traditional school aesthetic of bright colours and soft illustrations, in fact it actively fights against that. It is important that I show a considered alternative that schools will happily endorse too. Even though the app avoids seeming 'scary' or intimidating', it doesn't specifically show an overtly 'child friendly' approach. In fact it was also suggested that I rethink the name as 'Ghost' doesn't reflect the help service nature of it. I disagree with this as I think it still reflects the mature, young adult, 'edgy' aesthetic I set out to communicate. However it was still important to trial an approach from a different angle, with the school regime in mind.

Quick design experiment for 'school' aesthetic.

This shows a brighter, friendlier approach, which could be taken forward if the app was unsuccessful in gaining support from schools.