App & UI/UX Design
Problem: Students have a hard time finding photographers that fit their needs, while student photographers are finding it hard to gain clients. How can you create a service app that makes the process of finding a photographer or client easier for students?
APP DESIGN | BRANDING | UI/UX | LAYOUT DESIGN
Role: Ideation, research, naming, design, and development
Programs: Adobe Illustrator and Figma
Illustrations by Streamline
Photos by Olivia Rose Photography, Heather Wall Photography, Felix Scheyer (The Red&Black) , and Laney Martin (The Red&Black)
“How do college students find a peer photographer quickly?”
THEY CAN’T
Half of professional photographers started photography around their early to mid-twenties.
According to Data USA, a Bachelors degree was the most common level of education professional photographers achieved
The majority of photographers use Instagram to gain clients.
This is not beneficial for college students wanting to build a brand due to lack of time to create repetitive content.
Dating apps optimize for speed which is exactly what college students need.
According to Campus Grotto, College students only have 3.7 hours of free time in a 24 hour cycle.
DAWN uses the format of datings apps to instantly connect student photographers to students starting a new era in their lives.
Inspired by the rising sun of a new day, DAWN aims to give students a fresh start when it seems one will never come.
DAWN’s logo combines the iconography of a glowing sun with the aperture of a camera at F/5.6, a perfect set up for morning photography.
The minimalist color palette and typography of the app aims to highlight photographs and decrease distractions when users are looking for a match.
Learn more about DAWN’s styles
Typography
The typefaces Neue Haas Unica and Menco were chosen for legibility purposes. Both typefaces were designed with legibility on small scale in mind; their wide counters and sharp edges help with legibility in even the smallest weights. Their modern style further aligns with DAWN’s minimalistic branding.
Color
The color of DAWN was inspired by a sunrise. The main colors yellow and orange were picked to create a friendly, inviting atmosphere for new users of the app. They are offset by the dark brown that serves as an alternate to black, while the off-white serves as a warmer alternate to white and provides a strong, clean background for photos. The secondary colors blue and pink serve as accents that bring in pops of color against the minimalistic background. These vivid colors aim to attract the younger generation while their sparing use minimizes distractions and highlights photographs from each profile.
Logo and Name
DAWN was created to serve as a way for beginner photographers to start building their portfolios and gain clients. Clients usually want photography when starting a new chapter in their lives (such as having a child, graduating college, or getting married). Because of this common pattern, DAWN was named after the “dawn” of a new era, or the “dawn” of a new day. DAWN’s logo was designed as a combination of the sun and the aperture of a camera. It serves as a nod to photographers while also remaining on brand with the name.
Icon Design
DAWN’s icons were created to serve as a support system to the photography. Designed for minimalism, the icons use thin strokes and simple colors to minimize distraction from the photographs. All icons were created with simplicity and minimalism in mind. The combination of round and sharp corners reflect the different typefaces and layout of DAWN.
While designing the interface of the app, I asked students what they look for most when selecting a photographer. 100% of students stated they looked at their photography and editing style the most.
Due to this response, DAWN’s interface was designed to focus and highlight the photographs with an added option for photographers to add up to 10 photos on their profile.
With DAWN’s filter system, students can easily find the right photographer. Whether users need action shots for sports or promotional photos for their clubs, DAWN can fit their specific needs.
