iOS App Brainstorming

Initial Concepts:

• Graphical display
  • Different settings to control visual distortions
  • Make use of camera app or just basic picture editor
  • Mosaic, pixel sorting, RGB shift, glitchyness, etc.
  • Fluctuates digital imagery and rotates it to look kaleidoscopic
• Simple interactive games
  • L and R buttons rotate a board, objective is to get all the blocks off by dropping them through a hole in the board
  • Mad lib w/ pictures to match story
  • Sound bubbles float upwards and play a note when popped
    • Song verses must be played with buttons (which aren’t labeled)
• Tools for understanding
  • Educational app slideshow
    • Music artists, video game history, famous mountains
  • Fortune cookie button delivers a message of hope or humor

Description: The fortune cookie app gives people exactly what they need to hear. By tapping a button, users will receive a short message of inspiration to motivate them. To expand on functionality, I would add in a list of keywords that users can select from which determines the types of fortunes people get (i.e. family, business, relationships, hardships, etc.). This app wouldn’t solve people’s problems, but hopefully it could push them in the right direction towards solving some issue they’re having. I’m curious to see how something like this could influence people’s mood as they go about their lives; can a simple message of good or bad fortune lead to positive changes in their lives?

To enhance the experience I would add sound effects and visual feedback to make the “opening” of the cookie more exciting. Most apps like this I’ve come across are mute and simply generate a string on command. Ideally, I’d prefer to have the reception of the fortune be just as enjoyable as acting on the fortune itself. The app should engage users in more ways than just reading an inspiring quote. Perhaps it could even list suggested courses of actions like a horoscope would (i.e. “New experiences are coming your way. Stay open to whatever opportunities arise in the coming days.”)

Audience:

• People with anxiety/depression
• People who like motivational quotes
• People who like horoscopes/fortune telling
• People in need of inspiration or a daily pick-me-up
• Superstitious people

Research & Prototype: Most apps of this type are simply one button which spits out a random fortune. I want mine to give the users more freedom, options, and personalization to their fortunes. Based on what’s “On their mind” (they will select from a list of issues they relate to) different parameters are set to return different kinds of fortunes. For example, people struggling with money would rather hear that their hard work is paying off instead of how great a friend they are. Though, the latter example might be better suited for someone struggling to maintain relationships with other people. Giving the option to customize fortunes makes the experience more personal to the user.

The goal is to help improve people’s days, not toss them an arbitrary response of pseudo-wisdom. I’ll likely need around 100 different fortunes addressing a variety of dilemmas to start out with. Perhaps future development could involve other people writing their own fortunes to upload and share with others. These custom fortunes could even be signed with their username to tell whoever reads it that it was written by a real person in this time period, as opposed to just Confucius or Lao Tzu quotes from centuries ago.