Best to release as a MVP, or wait for a graphic designer?
I'm currently building an Android App and I am very close to having all the necessary functionality. I have also worked on the visual of the app and could be ready for release very soon.
When I originally proposed the idea, a graphic designer offered to work with me on the project. However I've not heard much from them since and am unsure if they are still on board as it is a not-for-profit project.
Would I be best to release the app as I've designed it, and then update the app with a "new and improved design", or wait it out for improved graphics?
#ask-ih
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If you want to polish your design yourself, you can also check out https://refactoringui.com/ and get sum easy to implement tips
Thanks, they seem to have really great tips!
I speak for myself but I do believe most people will tell you to launch as soon as possible and that is what I recommend you do. Gaining traction is an uphill battle that is better started now than later. Launch something ugly if you have to. Once you improve your design, re-launch!
I'm worried something ugly might put my users off though!
It depends. Are you trying to validate product/market fit or get sales? If you have a radical idea your testing then perhaps the graphics are not so important. If (like me) your product is strongly derivative in a highly competitive market then you need good graphics.
Most products are somewhere between these two extremes. You might want to look at the Play Store Beta program. This lets you release to smaller audiences without risking "burning" your target customers.
To my knowledge my app is the only one of its kind at the moment. I'm planning on putting it on the beta store and getting some testers but I haven't looked at requirements or anything yet.
The reason that most apps don't exist is because no-one needs them. Therefore you might take the view that you should release as early as possible to see if there is any product-market fit. Good luck.
release as soon as you can. your beta users will be understanding (especially if you communicate with them to set expectations). plus feedback from the users will give you better direction on re-designing and improving you UI.
Thanks everyone for your feedback so far!
Here are some screenshots: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MFjpJpJZVQz3zDeB9
I'm happy with most of it but I feel like I need some icons for the "home page" and the individual symptoms. But those can be added at a later point like many of you have said. I just don't want to put people off.
Some changes i would make:
Change the font.
You could present the information in a different layout and use more of the screen.
Play with a different color palette (You can keep it green thought).
I have chosen the font to match the logo, do you think it is difficult to read?
In reality a user would have many more symptoms, I only chose four for the screenshots. The current list of potential user added symptoms is 100+.
I'm not really sure where to start with colour palettes - I have literally taken the three colours from the logo and used them as the primary, accent, and dark colour within the android themes.
the font Is not difficult to read, i just looks kinda 'cartoonish' but its ok if thats the look you want for your app.
Just make the margin bigger on the list screen something like it : https://search.muz.li/NWJmMWNlZTFk then the content is more centered on the screen.
Heres a tool to check if your colors are ADA compilant : https://abc.useallfive.com/
A tool to create acesssible color systems:
https://www.colorbox.io
And if you are interested a guide about color acessibility:
https://usecontrast.com/guide
I honestly think that looks quite nice. Maybe it doesn't have that profession designer sheen, but I don't think I would question the quality of the app based on those screenshots.
You can go without a designer at the earliest stage. Namely now with many templates, UI frameworks and libraries being available. Mind you, it's coming from someone who's both a designer and a programmer.
probably fine to release it, especially if you're leaning heavily on something like google's material design library, but even so you can find market fit without a graphic designer. Can you share some screenshots? Sometimes it's a bit more obvious than others that it needs a little bit of love before launch :)