Cloud9

Enhance sunset experiences with accurate times, alerts, top spots, and a vibrant community sharing photos.

ui/ux
prototyping
Blog Post Image

Cloud9

Enhance sunset experiences with accurate times, alerts, top spots, and a vibrant community sharing photos.

ui/ux
prototyping
Blog Post Image

Timeframe

1 month

Type

Solo design sprint

Responsibilities

Design Research, UI/UX Design, Information Architecture, Visual Design, Wireframing, Protoyping

About

Cloud9 is an idea for a mobile application designed to enhance users' sunset-viewing experiences by providing accurate sunset & sunrise times, golden hour notifications, and recommended locations for optimal sunset views. The app aims to help users plan their sunset adventures with ease and predictability. By integrating user-generated content through photo uploads and ratings, Cloud9 also fosters a vibrant community of sunset aficionados.

Context

In today's fast-paced world, the value of spending quality time with nature is often overlooked. Watching the sunset is a cherished activity for many, as its a time to unplug from the world and connect with nature.

There’s nothing worse than planning an evening to go for the sunset, only for the view to be cloudy and grey. While existing weather apps offer sunset times, they often lack additional features tailored specifically for sunset enthusiasts. Cloud9 helps assist users in planning their sunset-viewing endeavors by giving a data-backed prediction of the sunset, along with times of golden hour, blue hour, and more.

Problem Statement

Currently, there are no apps that are easy to use and accessible for sunset enthusiasts. Existing apps provide minimal data regarding sunset times and weather, but those numbers are only helpful if you know how to understand them.

Cloud9 aims to give users predictions based off these numbers, to help you plan your sunsets accordingly. In addition, the app has a photo sharing feature, where users can rate and share their sunset experiences.

User Personas

Adventure Enthusiast

  • Loves outdoor adventures, tech-savy. seeks nature’s tranquility

  • Wants to discover new sunset viewing spots, accurate timings for outdoor photography, community engagement

  • Has difficulty finding optimal sunset-viewing spots, unreliable timing information, lack of community connection

Business Professional

  • Balances career and family, craves moments of tranquility

  • Wants convenient planning for family outings, timely reminders for golden hour, user-friendly experience

  • Lacks time for leisure activities, difficulty coordinating family schedules, complexity of apps

Photography Hobbyist

  • Student passionate about photography, active on social media

  • Wants accurate timings for outdoor photography, inspiration and location scouting, community feedback

  • Has challenges in finding ideal photography locations and timings, limited inspiration resources, lack of constructive feedback

Design Process + Planning

After establishing what type of features I wanted to include in the app, I conducted research on existing apps with features I was interested in, and how I could improve upon those. This led me to the intial planning of the app’s architecture.

Screen 1- Times

Main page showcasing location, sunset quality shown as percentage, sunrise/sunset times, countdown, key times throughout the day, and cloud cover.

This helps users know exactly when the sunrise or sunset will be and how to time their day if they are interested in photography.

Screen 2 Outlook

The outlook page displays an ‘at a glance’ overview of the sunrise and sunset quality for the week.

Screen 3- Map

The Explore page features a map that can be filtered through and recommended locations near you or your inputted location.

The map has filtering options to view by Sunrise, Sunset, Trails, or Viewpoints.

This view allows users to feel connected to their community by showing recommended trails and viewpoints in their location.

Screen 4- Photos

The Photos tab acts as a personal diary for users of Cloud9, where they can document their sunrise and sunset adventures.

Simply click a date on the calendar or the + button in the top right corner to add a new entry. Here you can take a photo in the app or upload an existing image. Next you’ll have the opportunity to log the location, rate your sunrise/sunset adventure, and add any additional notes.

User Testing Feedback

With the working prototype, I had a couple users run through the app to see what features are effective, what can be added to improve the experience, and its overall user-friendliness.

Advantages

  • The ‘at a glance’ page gives a clear overview of what to expect for the week.

  • Users felt an emotional connection to the Photos page as it acts like a journal to log their experiences.

Suggestions

  • Possibly integrating a social aspect to the app. 



    • A way to connect with friends to see each others sunrise/sunset photos.



    • A community tab to see where other people of the community are going for the best views.

Cloud9

Enhance sunset experiences with accurate times, alerts, top spots, and a vibrant community sharing photos.

ui/ux
prototyping
Blog Post Image

Timeframe

1 month

Type

Solo design sprint

Responsibilities

Design Research, UI/UX Design, Information Architecture, Visual Design, Wireframing, Protoyping

About

Cloud9 is an idea for a mobile application designed to enhance users' sunset-viewing experiences by providing accurate sunset & sunrise times, golden hour notifications, and recommended locations for optimal sunset views. The app aims to help users plan their sunset adventures with ease and predictability. By integrating user-generated content through photo uploads and ratings, Cloud9 also fosters a vibrant community of sunset aficionados.

Context

In today's fast-paced world, the value of spending quality time with nature is often overlooked. Watching the sunset is a cherished activity for many, as its a time to unplug from the world and connect with nature.

There’s nothing worse than planning an evening to go for the sunset, only for the view to be cloudy and grey. While existing weather apps offer sunset times, they often lack additional features tailored specifically for sunset enthusiasts. Cloud9 helps assist users in planning their sunset-viewing endeavors by giving a data-backed prediction of the sunset, along with times of golden hour, blue hour, and more.

Problem Statement

Currently, there are no apps that are easy to use and accessible for sunset enthusiasts. Existing apps provide minimal data regarding sunset times and weather, but those numbers are only helpful if you know how to understand them.

Cloud9 aims to give users predictions based off these numbers, to help you plan your sunsets accordingly. In addition, the app has a photo sharing feature, where users can rate and share their sunset experiences.

User Personas

Adventure Enthusiast

  • Loves outdoor adventures, tech-savy. seeks nature’s tranquility

  • Wants to discover new sunset viewing spots, accurate timings for outdoor photography, community engagement

  • Has difficulty finding optimal sunset-viewing spots, unreliable timing information, lack of community connection

Business Professional

  • Balances career and family, craves moments of tranquility

  • Wants convenient planning for family outings, timely reminders for golden hour, user-friendly experience

  • Lacks time for leisure activities, difficulty coordinating family schedules, complexity of apps

Photography Hobbyist

  • Student passionate about photography, active on social media

  • Wants accurate timings for outdoor photography, inspiration and location scouting, community feedback

  • Has challenges in finding ideal photography locations and timings, limited inspiration resources, lack of constructive feedback

Design Process + Planning

After establishing what type of features I wanted to include in the app, I conducted research on existing apps with features I was interested in, and how I could improve upon those. This led me to the intial planning of the app’s architecture.

Screen 1- Times

Main page showcasing location, sunset quality shown as percentage, sunrise/sunset times, countdown, key times throughout the day, and cloud cover.

This helps users know exactly when the sunrise or sunset will be and how to time their day if they are interested in photography.

Screen 2 Outlook

The outlook page displays an ‘at a glance’ overview of the sunrise and sunset quality for the week.

Screen 3- Map

The Explore page features a map that can be filtered through and recommended locations near you or your inputted location.

The map has filtering options to view by Sunrise, Sunset, Trails, or Viewpoints.

This view allows users to feel connected to their community by showing recommended trails and viewpoints in their location.

Screen 4- Photos

The Photos tab acts as a personal diary for users of Cloud9, where they can document their sunrise and sunset adventures.

Simply click a date on the calendar or the + button in the top right corner to add a new entry. Here you can take a photo in the app or upload an existing image. Next you’ll have the opportunity to log the location, rate your sunrise/sunset adventure, and add any additional notes.

User Testing Feedback

With the working prototype, I had a couple users run through the app to see what features are effective, what can be added to improve the experience, and its overall user-friendliness.

Advantages

  • The ‘at a glance’ page gives a clear overview of what to expect for the week.

  • Users felt an emotional connection to the Photos page as it acts like a journal to log their experiences.

Suggestions

  • Possibly integrating a social aspect to the app. 



    • A way to connect with friends to see each others sunrise/sunset photos.



    • A community tab to see where other people of the community are going for the best views.