In the DME-120 Introduction to Multimedia Applications class, students created mobile app prototypes using Adobe XD. This is a vector-based software for designing and prototyping user experiences for web and mobile apps. Students can create static designs and turn them into interactive prototypes that simulates the flow of an app. The students focused on the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX) of the mobile applications.

The students worked in teams to create the prototypes. They first had to work out a project plan with deadlines for each stage of production. Then, they produced a written proposal explaining the project. Each team created a storyboard for the app. This helped the team visualize what the app would look like once completed. The students created a low-fidelity (low detail) wireframe and a high-fidelity (high detail) wireframe. When the high-fidelity wireframe was completed, the team received feedback from the class and made revisions based on that feedback. Once the teams added the interactivity to the apps, they were able to test their mobile app prototype on an iPad. This gave the teams a better feel of the mobile app’s user experience.

The final stage of the project was a group presentation. The teams had to pretend they were presenting at the Advanced Technologies Mobile App Conference. Their audience (the rest of the class) were investors looking to invest $100,000 in a new mobile app. At the end of the presentations, the investors filled out a form and decided how much money they would invest in each app. We totaled up the money received for each app to see which team had the most money to continue development of the app. These were some of the best presentations I have ever seen, really entertaining.

Check out the video (below) to see the students’ work on the mobile app prototypes.