IBIRD
I had an idea years ago that I wanted to create an app that would record a birdcall and match it to a database to help make identifying birds easier. This project was my opportunity to explore the idea.
IBird was one of the first apps available on the App Store. It helps people identify birds based on pictures and written descriptions, with filters for various features. However, when you're trying to identify a bird, it's often moving and difficult to see. Speed is key, and fumbling through a book or app can be cumbersome. This was a group project done as part of General Assembly's UX Immersive.
HIGH FIDELITY MOCKUPS & PROTOTYPE ・ ANNOTATED WIREFRAMES ・ INTERFACE & INTERACTION DESIGN ・ MEDIUM FIDELITY MOCKUPS ・ INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE ・ FEATURE INTEGRATION ・ IDEATION & FEATURE DEVELOPMENT ・ COMPARATIVE FEATURE ANALYSIS ・ RESEARCH & ANALYSIS ・ PERSONAS ・ SURVEYS & INTERVIEWS ・ INITIAL CONCEPT
Synopsis
We integrated a birdcall identification feature into the existing iBird app.
This project was interesting in seeing how impactful research can be. We thought that the Audubon would have the go to app, and that the size of the iPad would make reading and bird identification easier. We also thought that our primary audience would be novice birders. We were wrong on all those counts, so we pivoted to a different app, device, and audience. We found that iBird was the most popular app, partly because it was one of the first apps to be available for iPhones. We also learned that the bird watchers surveyed do not want to carry an iPad and prefer phones.
The average age of our survey respondents was 55, and about a third of our survey participants did not even have a smart phone! Surprisingly, though, the concept of being able to identify a bird call with an app had practically unanimous support across all levels of bird watchers interviewed, from professional nature photographers, to very experienced birders, to people who only watched birds from their back yards.
An older woman who considers herself an avid birdwatcher even said that she would buy a smartphone specifically for the ability to use this feature. Like many birders, she listens to recordings of birdcalls at home to try to learn them, but is ultimately not very successful.
We designed a feature that would be simple enough for non-technical users, while providing more sophisticated functionality for those who want it. Default settings would keep the record button docked at all times, with automatic clipping of relevant audio, and saving to a default location. There are menu options to activate the record button by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, for manually clipping audio, and for saving to other locations.
In our current iteration, the feature allows you to continue using the rest of the app while recording. This aspect has not been thoroughly user tested. Our reasoning was that birds move quickly, and we didn't want our users to feel trapped choosing between being able to look up a bird visually or being able to record it.
The existing app has major room for improvement, particularly from an information architecture standpoint. We maintained its overall structure, design, and style rather than completely overhauling it and adapting to iOS guidelines because our goal was not to redesign the entire app, however tempting.
