Promotional Magazine Pages

 

The following are some screen shots from some of the pages of the promotional magazine. Instead of using the classic Company layout, I've taken influence from the Company High Street Edit magazine so consumers can differentiate that the Stylist Edit app and promotional magazine are extensions of the Company brand. Plus this style is also the same theme as the app therefore it co-ordinates.  I'm keeping all the pages fairly simple, with all white backgrounds so everything is easier to read, plus looks more sophisticated to not alientate older audiences (this magazine is being sent out with all Missguided orders). I'm really pleased with how it's looking so far, I want the fashion pages to illustrate how the app works which I think it will once I've added the text.

Magazine Adverts/Content

Magazine content is a big form of promotion regarding the advertising of the app. Here I have created the editor's letter page which currently has adverts on it promoting their Weekly Edit app, also within the editor's letter I have talked about the app. This page will go in the January issue of Company magazine so readers are aware of the app when they first start reading the magazine. I have also created an advert for the magazine based around their current Weekly Edit app advert that briefly explains the apps features. Moreover, an article page has been created that explains to readers the ins and outs of the app written in a Company style as well as persuading the consumers to go and download the app. All content has been drawn out.

Campaign & Media Plan

The Campaign & Media plan can be found above. The first two images are the Campaign plan listing everything that will be done in order to produce not only the app but also the entire promotional campaign behind it.

The Media plan outlines the cost for my promotion. Most of the promotional techniques are free of charge. This is because the app costs so much to make that it leaves little expenditure left for a large media promotion campaign. Luckily, most of the promotion required is free anyway. However, once the app makes a profit, Company can look into more expensive promotional methods however this isn't really what the company does already, so may not even be something done by the brand. The media costs were found on the following websites

• Emails- http://mailchimp.com/
• Flyers- http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/flyers

Completed Final App Visuals

After making some important changes to my app, these are the finished results. After speaking with my tutor, he gave me some ideas that were needed to make the app itself look a lot more realistic. For example, I added on the status bar at the top (e.g. time/ battery etc) which instantly made the app look a lot more realistic. In addition, I added the new font logo and made the symbols and icons a lot more sleeker, more iOS7 style too. The fonts remained the same to maintain continuity with the other brand extensions. Also, a side menu bar was added to make navigation easier and to stop it looking so cluttered and messy at the bottom. The same changes were applied to the iPhone edition. I am pleased with the results as in hindsight, the previous design looked a lot more drawn out and unprofessional compared to the new sleeker version. 

Final App Visuals

The images above are the finals of my app design and drawing. Overall it took me two days to complete it and I'm really pleased with the results. Although, to me they don't look realistic but I think that's because I've seen them so much and obviously I know I've drawn them out.

I decided to keep the menu bar at the bottom rather than at the side because I felt this would make navigation easier given that Instagram is so popular primarily due to its easy layout. The options along the bottom are as follows; Home, Wardrobe, Outfits, Outfit Suggestions, Calendar and Wishlist.  I have drawn out every version of the page for the iPad version and the main pages for the iPhone version. All elements have been drawn out.

I've decided to add a sign up feature so each user has a profile. This will gain them access to vouchers and exclusive features on the website. In addition, having a profile will also mean Company can gather data. Having a profile also means that users can access their wardrobe and outfits from any device or on the website.

On the wardrobe page the boxes will be different sizes depending on the amount of clothing the users uploads. For example, if the consumer has more tops than dresses then the top box will be bigger. This provides the consumer with a visual representation of the amount of clothing in their wardrobe.

I think the app is very self explanatory from the visuals above, however upon opening the app the consumer will be greeted with help tips explaining what all the features do to help users navigate the app on their first use.

App Design

Here are a few quick sketches of some design ideas I've had for my app. The app will definitely work on portrait on both iPhone and iPad as this is the standard way to use both items. I think the iPad version will look a lot less cluttered because there is more space to work with, however both designs will be slightly different to each other in terms of layout. The iPad design will probably have the left hand bar there permanently for users to be able to navigate easily and quickly around the app, whereas the iPhone version will have a button to access the navigation menu at the top (like on Facebook). At the moment, I have concentrated on using circles in my design but I will also experiment with different shapes and even text, however I do like the use of circles. In addition, there will be a swipe across navigation to see outfits and clothes as I feel this is a a motion everyone is familiar with, plus given the success of Tinder with their swipe feature, this is an easy way to navigate.  

Layout Inspiration #5- User Interfaces

The following information is from Mashabale.com regarding trends in user interfaces:

• Twitter, Facebook and now Instagram lead the way in design inspiration for future apps. Twitter was the first to adopt the pull down to refresh feature that is now used by the majority of apps.
• Colours are a really strong way to make apps stand out from the crowd.
• Textured backgrounds are another design element that's incredibly popular. 'Texture can add a tremendous amount of personality to an application, but developers should be mindful of how text and button elements look on top of the background. The wrong color choice can make content unreadable or buttons hard to find'
• Clean, minimalistic designs are always popular and appeal to consumers.'Using shadows to create the perception of depth can give these buttons and interface elements a more "touchable" look and feel, while also appearing more striking.'
• Thin fonts are also more aesthetically pleasing. 'On mobile devices, the combination of thinner type and high resolution screens often makes for a more readable experience. It also helps differentiate apps. Thin sans serif fonts are often coupled with text-driven designs or with designs that utilize background texture.'

The following information comes from Hongkiat, and outlines the 'hottest' user interface trends for 2014.

• Grid Layout Systems- Social news feeds have always been in a streamlined fashion such as Twitter or Tumblr. Nowadays even many Facebook pages scatter timeline updates to appear like a grid. This isn’t something you can force into any old website. There needs to be a purpose, the user experience always comes first. In situations using thumbnail images or text updates the grid layout condenses everything into an easy-to-read format. Everything is skimmable yet still coherent and it doesn’t require much space on the page.
• Flat Design Elements- Buttons have been made sleeker and flatter, 'using natural box shadows, text shadows, or rounded corners'
• Expanding Search Bars- But there is a growing popularity for building semi-hidden or expanding search bars into your layout. The user clicks a magnifying glass icon or clicks into the form itself, and then it expands wider to allow for more text input.'
• Quick Registration Forms- Try to keep all registration forms quick and to the point. Many newer webapps include the signup form right on their homepage to capture as many visitors as possible. This happens when a new visitor is curious about your product, sees the form only has 2-4 fields and decides to go for it. You may be shocked at how well this strategy works for capturing new users.'

The following are more key trends presented through a different website Gizmodo

• Layers & Depths within apps- creating visual hierarchy between options in the app
• Blurring- 'the process by which certain layers within the UI of applications are more and more commonly being blurred. It's a logical and quite natural solution to keeping the UI minimal while still creating effective hierarchy of elements.'
• Experimentation with transitions- 'With the use of layers – or simply navigating through an interface – comes the need for clean and simple, yet unique methods of transitioning from one layer or section of the interface to the next. It needs to be smooth, but not feel sluggish. It's a fine balance between the two, even more so when you take into account the desire to stand out amongst the crowd, but such restraints continue to push innovation and creativity.'

Layout Inspiration #4- General Apps

The following are general app screenshots from a variety of different apps. The majority of screen shots were taken from an iPad so it's clear to see that the left hand side bar is a popular and prominent feature within the design. Although I do really like the bottom bar, I think that's something that may have to be kept on iPhone designs rather than iPad. Another predominant feature within these app shots are the use of either dark or white backgrounds presumably so that everything stands out and is clear. I definitely won't be using any crazy colour scheme or effects within the background of my app. Incidentally, as seen in the River Island screen shots (third image) images of clothing work much better on a white background. In addition, I definitely think some sort of box/grid system would be a good way to differentiate between outfits and navigational options.  My favourite layouts here are the Tumblr, Pinterest and River Island as they are easy to use, clear and sophisticated and appealing to the eye. 

Layout Inspiration #3- Fashion/Styling Apps

The above apps are all personal styling and fashion apps. My favourite layout is the Stylebook app (the last image), as it's clear, sophisticated and looks really easy to use. In addition, the layout is quite similar to that of Facebook with the options/menu down the left hand side of the app. Therefore users feel like they already know the design layout. I've never seen an app with it's menu bar on the right hand side, therefore left will always be used in the design of my own. I think it's also very important to have the menu and navigation available to use at all times so users can quickly swap between what they're doing.

I quite like navigation tools at the bottom of the app screen similar to that of Instagram and What I Wore Today (third image). That way it leaves the rest of the screen free to be used for the app rather than half of it covered by a menu bar. However, it's only really on iPad layouts that the menu bar is at the side as there isn't much room for that on an iPhone. It may be something to consider whether to have two slightly different layouts for an iPad user and iPhone like Facebook does. 

One of the layout ideas I particularly like is the first image whereby the home screen is a series of boxes with different options in. I think this would make understanding the app easier upon first play with it and also keep everything simple and sleek. From the home screen, the navigational options would either then go along the bottom or along the side. I think it's definitely going to be easier to create an iPad version of the app because there is a lot more space to work with. 

I also really like the use of white backgrounds with different sized circles in (see second image). The circles are also something Company uses a lot within their magazine layout (see here), therefore in terms of continuity that would work quite well on a home screen. In addition, it may be an idea to have circles representing clothing items, with bigger circles for the items they wear the most therefore consumers can visually see which items of clothing they wear the most and least.

App Logos/Icons

The icon of my app is very important in terms of promotion as this essentially is the packaging for the product. Originally, Company's Weekly Edit app had it's own icon but has since moved into the App Store Newstand under the Company magazine digital version. My app, on the other hand will be a stand alone app and have its own icon.

Its important to keep the icon very simple and sophisticated looking. There isn't much space in an icon therefore it can't be too busy, plus personally I am turned off overly- busy app icons as they look cheap. I don't think my icon will be simply a symbol as that doesn't tell the user what the app does or is. For example, Snapchat, Whatsapp and Stylebook. Whatsapp and Snapchat have become famous and globally recognised through their symbol, however Stylebook hasn't and not many people would know the brand or what the app did just by looking at the icon.

My icon will definitely have text in and be similar to the likes of River Island and Style.com. I am considering a coloured background based around the main colours I end up choosing for the entire app. As blue is a colour most people are drawn to (Facebook and Twitter both use this colour probably for that reason), I think I will use a pastel blue. Or even a pink because it's obviously quite a girly app.

Company's brand name will be on there so consumers know it is part of the Company extension and obviously the name 'Stylist Edit' will be on there as well. I will play around with different fonts that Company use when creating the logo, but I think the one they use for the Weekly Edit app and their High Street Edit magazine will work best to maintain continuity.

Company Weekly Edit App Layout

When the Company Weekly Edit app first launched, their interface looked like this. Oddly, none of the fonts or layouts are similar to anything used in the magazine; this may be done purposely so consumers can see it is a completely different thing to the print publication. The text is ultimately unappealing and personally turns me off wanting to read the content let alone download the app. The colours are very bright and garish, whereas the print publication focuses on pastels and soft tones. The layout looks badly and quickly put together and generally un- aesthetically pleasing. If I was to take any sort of layout direction from this in terms of my own app, I would consider using the bright colours only and take more inspiration from the print publication as I think that sums up Company more than this; consumers can easily link the Company brand to their unique layout, fonts, colours and style. 

Recently, Company updated their Weekly Edit app layout and personally I think it looks so much better! The pastel colours are more in keeping with the magazine tying in all their extensions of the brand together. This layout, fonts and style is the same as their bi-annual magazine, High Street Edit, so everything does link together nicely. This makes it a lot easier when designing the visuals of my own app as they will be in keeping with this style linking everything together. The fonts work well- a mixture of girly and bold, whilst always being legible. In addition, I think the little doodles e.g. the hearts and 'cute dress' speech bubble would be a nice touch on the app. Little quotations like 'cute dress' may also help to boost consumers self esteem as they will be getting compliments on their outfits. 

App Review- Wink n Pout

ABOUT:
'Wink n Pout is your personal stylist app, which helps you figure what flatters your body the best & styles you for any occasion.We surprise you everyday with one personalized fashion product and an outfit idea, apt for your body type & your fashion preference. You can make tons of looks around these products we hand pick for you, everyday.
You can SHOP everything you see on the app.
Add products to WANT LIST to buy them later or share it, to make sure you love what people surprise you with later ;)
EXPLORE HOW AND WHAT TO WEAR to any occasion casual / evening, we have a style solution tailored for you exclusively. 
In all Wink n Pout aims in making shopping and dressing, a hassle free experience. We, at Wink n Pout believe that every woman deserves to look good in her OWN BODY and hence become more confident and have a positive body image' - iTunes synopsis of app

REVIEW:
The app is really simple to use, upon opening it asks for some basic information e.g. age, picture, body shape, then gives options for users to select from e.g. two different types of dresses to gauge what style the consumer prefers. From here the app then asks the user to chose an event they need an outfit for from a list of several including 'gym' 'concert' 'romantic date'. Then the user has to select a top or dress from the database and the app will generate outfit suggestions. There are limited tops and dresses on the database and rarely did I find one to my personal taste, but there are lots of options. In addition, it is good that if you don't like the outfit option suggested you can ask for a new one and it will keep producing them. It's a good little app for generating outfit inspiration, however if you don't own the items in the database or anything similar then it's not helpful. Although, saying that, the purpose of the app is to help with shopping purchases, so in this sense it is good that it can show you  a range of outfit options with one key component e.g. a leopard print top. Moreover, it offers style advice on the home page advising what clothing pieces to go for in regards to your body shape.

App Review- Style Book

ABOUT

'Stylebook is designed to help you carefully curate your wardrobe so you can look effortlessly chic everyday. We want you to get the most out of what you already have in your closet and to choose new pieces that will integrate well into your wardrobe as a whole.

A little organization can go a long way when it comes to getting dressed. Mixing and matching what you own, comparing new purchases to what have in your closet, planning the outfits you'll wear on vacation, and saving all your favorite style inspirations in one place will all help you develop your personal style. This was the basic idea behind the original version of Stylebook, which has now evolved to include over 90 features.'

REVIEW

Stylebook is the 'ultimate' personal styling app. It's very sleek in it's presentation and very easy to use. I like how all the feature options are permanently down the side of the app thus are easily accessible. When uploading images to the 'closet', the app requires the item to be edited to remove all the background so it's then easier to layer up outfits. This is a nifty feature to help create the outfit look sleeker and more like Polyvore boards. Creating outfits was really simple, however like the other apps the user has to create all their own outfits. Nevertheless, you can add outfits to the calendar and plan out an entire months worth of outfits. In addition, there is also a suitcase feature to help with packing for trips. This app is the best one both aesthetically, ease-to-use and in terms of styling. It also has many of the features that I want to put in the 'Stylist Edit' app. 

App Review- Closet +

ABOUT
'Access your closet on the go! Plan ahead and create outfits for events and day to day life. Use the calendar to keep track of WHAT you wore WHEN and WHERE. Prepare a packing list for your next trip from anywhere! Share your outfit with friends before heading out to prevent "double vision" ;) 

Closet+ is a beautiful, feature-packed style assistant with unmatched functionality.' - iTunes description of the app

REVIEW
I found this app really difficult to use, although it's very sleek and stylish aesthetically, it's not clear how to use it thus it was confusing and frustrating to grasp. The only way I could generate an outfit was through the manual option rather than the standard way, as that wasn't obvious how to use at all (see image 5). Once I had created an outfit, it didn't show it properly, but merely on a revolving picture square so it is hard to see what the outfit looks like. All in all I didn't like how this app worked and couldn't figure out how to use it properly. I did however, like the feature whereby you can add a date and place to outfits so you can see how often you wore it, when the last time you wore it was and where you wore it. 

App Review- Stylish Girl

ABOUT:

'Stylish Girl is your ultimate style planner and shopping app - revolving around the clothes in your closet and the clothes you love to have. Fashion is all about how you put your clothes together, so mix and match your clothes with the Stylish Girl's FUN & EASY interface and step up your style.

- CATALOG your Closet and Wish Items

- CREATE AMAZING OUTFITS anytime and anywhere;

- SHARE YOUR OUTFITS AND CLOTHES with your friends via email, Facebook or Twitter

- SHOP ONLINE. Browse Shopstyle.com, mix and match the online items against your clothes and outfits;

- GET INSPIRED with the latest fashion looks, celebrities’ fashion styles and news from selected fashion blogs and magazines.

- PACK FOR YOUR TRAVEL QUICKLY without forgetting anything behind'- iTunes description of app

REVIEW

This app's userface is very cluttered and personally I find it un-aesthetically pleasing. Ironically, it doesn't feel very 'stylish'. Nonetheless, the app is really simple to use. Uploading clothes is simple and asking each consumer to tag clothes under specific headings is a clever way of organising everything. It's also very easy to view everything within the closet visually opposed to seeing it under headings. Creating outfits is also a very easy task by selecting items and placing them together on a background. This app doesn't have any sort of editing feature so the images taken of clothing are the ones used so it's difficult to layer items on top of each other.

This app also has some really great features in the form of being able to make a visual list of what to put in one's suitcase when travelling. The shopping feature is ideal for British consumers as all the clothing is American and also very expensive. If this app was given a lot of time then it is definitely a really good way of creating an online closet. Stylish Girl doesn't actually create outfits for the user, instead the user generates their own outfits from their online closet.

Initial Idea #5- Styling App

A London based fashion company called Thread have recently launched their own personal stylist application for busy men who don’t have time to peruse outfits but still want to look good. The app uses personal shoppers to find clothes suited to them and create entire outfits that the user can buy without the consumer having to go through the shopping experience. This application is currently only available for men, so to expand there would be an app created for women. As women enjoy the shopping experience this part of the app would be changed. Instead women can upload what’s already in their wardrobes and the stylists can create outfits that way, as well as suggesting things to buy that will go with their closet and general style.

*I found out about this service through the following article on Business of Fashion here 

Initial Idea #1- Missguided App

Initial Research:

• In 2010, Missguided launched their first app for iPhone (see link here), however it isn't around anymore. This suggests that Missguided are definitely open to launching an app, and are probably looking to do it within the near future. On their Facebook page, there is a lot of interest within them creating another app, therefore there is a public demand for this service. Although there is no evidence- as of yet- to hint that Missguided are launching their app within the next few months, this is something that could affect my campaign if I focus on this idea.
  
• One article released during the launch of their app, spoke of the connection between online retailers and growing strength of smart phones (see here). Nowadays apps are big business and definitely the norm for most people's lifestyles. I, personally, would love to see a Missguided app. Plus, it's the right time to be creating one, given that their competitors all have their own online app. 

• The following video outlines the original Missguided app, it's functions and how it worked. Providing the updates of iOS and the entire Missguided website overhaul, the design of the app would be completely different. Some of the functions would remain, e.g. the shopping aspect and links to social media. In addition, their blog would be integrated more and loobook/trend features.

Initial Idea #1- Missguided App

In 2010, Missguided did launch an app, however, it is no longer available to download suggesting that it never really took off or was sustainable enough to maintain. However, as the digital world has rapidly grown since 2010, and fashion brand’s presence within the app world has expanded, with the majority of stores now having one. The Missguided app would be fully transactional, featuring the same tabs as the website, offering more interactive features that differentiate the app from the website. In addition, the promotional campaign would be fun and experimental given that Missguided frequently use through-the-line techniques to promote the brand.