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Design 1 focuses on providing data to an user for they can better decide what restaurant to choose from. The overall purpose of the application is to provide a canvas for the user to eliminate choices as they narrow down places to eat in a relatively close distance. Starting with more choices, our goal is to provide the user with enough information to narrow a choice from 4 restaurants into eventually 1. As we progress to less choices, more information will be provided such as detailed reviews and full menus. The idea behind this approach is that users do not needed a lot of information to narrow down initial choices, but as the choices become more difficult, the application provides them with more information to make a better informed decision.
Storyboard
Initially, the display shows four restaurants in their nearby surroundings with limited information about each restaurant - a name, general rating, distance, and a few menu options. From these choices, the one that seems least appealing can be swiped off, producing another query result. If at any point the user swipes two options off the screen at the same time, the resulting comparison will only look at the remaining two options. Another method is to slide two different restaurants into one other, announcing that the user wants to compare those particular two restaurants.
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Once a choice has been made, the application displays a step by step directional map to guide the user to their designation. This page will be displayed with other information about the restaurant, such as phone number, the entire menu, as well as photos of the establishment.
Analysis
*Learnability: *Elimination is a common technique for making choices. Given a certain set of decisions, a person initial instinct is to quickly get rid of choices that are not appealing. Learnability for this particular app follows the same idea. As a user eliminates choices for a restaurant, he can just "wipe" it off the screen. This motion is used throughout the entirety of the experience. As a result, the interaction with our interface is an intuitive way for users to eliminate choices consistant with the way they perform a similar task otherwise.
Efficiency: Presenting essential information at each particular stage of the elimination process is the key to the efficiency of this design. At our initial level of comparison, our application hopes to provide enough information for a user to eliminate a few of the choices. Later on, as choices are more limited, more information is provided for the user. In the entire searching process, the user rarely needs to navigate between screens to make a decision.
*Safety: *A center MenuMe button helps the user navigate through previously swiped options, and allows the user to perform a more in depth , thereby allowing the user to backtrack through previous choices. Furthermore, additional back buttons will also allow the user to retrace their steps as they look into the menu and location.
Design 2
Design 3
Design 3 is a radically different way of choosing a restaurant to eat at. As we have mentioned, the target market is the set of people who are hungry but want cheaper food, and are eating simply to satisfy the biological need, not necessarily to have the "ultimate restaurant experience." In this design, we allow users to view restaurants in the area, but in the context of a game. This medium makes a lot of sense for a variety of reasons. First, since the game can be thought of as "competitive", restaurants could potentially advertise in a new way by rewarding winners. This way, people would be excited to use the app and find a restaurant that they could get a coupon for. Second, if we make the game itself compelling enough, people may be excited to use the app just because they enjoy the game. In this way, we may be able to interest users. Finally, by giving the user a gaming experience, people could gain an emotional attachment to the restaurant search experience. That emotional attachment would make it more fun for the user.
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The restaurants will be chosen at random from the set of restaurants within 1 mile of the user, according to GPS. This is an acceptable way to choose the restaurants to display because the user is simply searching for a bite to eat, so he may not know what type of food he wants, but is certainly not picky. In any case, he can quickly cycle through many restaurants just by "driving down the highway." See the following storyboard to understand the game on a deeper level:
Storyboard
IMAGE 1
1) Image 1 shows the first screen a user will encounter. It has two simple options. The user can either begin to "race", or cycle through the restaurants. Otherwise, he can choose "help" to learn more about how to play and choose restaurants. In our example, our user chooses to "start race".
IMAGE 2
2) The user has begun searching for restaurants. His car is driving down the road and sees a billboard at this exit for the restaurant "Hsin Hsin". If this restaurant is interesting to him, he can take this exit. To do so, he will simply tilt his device right was the exit approaches. If this restaurant is not interesting to him, he can continue traveling down the road and see the next restaurant. In our example, assume the user is interested in "Hsin Hsin" and takes the exit.
IMAGE 3
3) The user has taken the exit for "Hsin Hsin" and is faced with a crossroads. He can either choose to re-enter the freeway or exit fully. Re-entering saves this restaurant as a possible choice for the user, which the app will save to be compared later. Exiting moves the user to a screen where he can learn a bit more about the restaurants he is interested in. In either case, the user tilts the device to cause the car to turn in that direction. In our example, the user wants to see other restaurants in the area. He turns left and is back on the highway as seen in Image 2. He chooses to compare "Hsin Hsin", the restaurant he has already chosen, to a new restaurant he sees, "Pour House". This time upon exiting, he fully exits the freeway so that he can "Compare Current" as in Image 3.
IMAGE 4
4) The user now has found two restaurants he is interested in. He sees basic information on this screen about the type of food, rating, and popular dishes. When he finds the one he is interested in, he simply touches that restaurant. In our example, the user wants to go to "Pour House", so he selects it.
IMAGE 5
5) Immediately upon selecting the restaurant he wants, a map appears which leads to the desired restaurant. In our example, the user successfully arrives at "Pour House" and enjoys his meal.
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