The goal for this team project was to design a mobile app using Figma and implementing the Apple iOS design style and guidelines. To keep our team in check, there were milestones to hit every few weeks to maintain organization and time management. These milestones were the Team Contract and Project Proposal, Design Production, User Research, Iterative Design, and Presentation. Each member on the team was required to make one feature of the app with a minimum of five screens per feature.
The topic for the project originated from Code For America, a website for empowering others through civil projects created with digital skills. Out of three prompts, our group selected removing barriers resulting from the criminal legal system. We then decided on the name of our app: "New Leaf."
Each year, 600,000+ people are released from federal and state prisons. Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers upon re-entering society: they are not allowed to vote, have little access to education, and face obstacles in terms of job opportunities. They are ineligible for public benefits, public housing, and student loans (The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights). Furthermore, one in three people in the U.S. have a criminal record that appears on a routine background check; and a 2009 study found that 28% of applicants without a record got a job callback, compared to only 15% of those with a record. Most individuals released from prison want legal, stable employment opportunities upon release; and some criminal justice research suggests that acquiring and maintaining a legitimate job can reduce former prisoners’ chances of reoffending (Christy Visher, et al 2008). Many employers are hesitant to hire ex-offenders out of concern that these individuals might commit crimes while working for them or otherwise damage their company's reputation. (Ross et al., 2010) While in prison, some people attempt to gain some sort of education by enrolling in vocational or academic courses offered by technical schools, community colleges or universities; others wait until they are released to enroll in educational programs. While employment isn’t the only barrier recently incarcerated individuals face, it is one that can have long-lasting impacts and effects that act as a burden upon re-entry to society. Without legitimate opportunities to earn an income and provide for themselves, the chances of these inidividuals being able to continue their lives upon release remain low. Therefore, employment upon release might be considered one of the more important barriers that these individuals face. Previously incarcerated individuals need a way to more easily reintegrate themselves into society through employment so that they can continue living their lives while facing minimal barriers and obstacles.
My role in the team was to create the notifications feature of our app. In order to make an effective notifications feature, I did research on multiple existing apps and started making numerous sketches for the feature. The sketching was done digitally, and the rest of the design process and creation was done in Figma.
For my research, I started by creating a couple sketches of my initial ideation of a notifications screen – mainly what I thought a landing page for notifications would look like. I added some other sketches regarding other notification pages as well. After this, my team helped put together a flow chart in which I could streamline my creative process in an organized fashion, understanding what is necessary and the screen orders. Finally, I completed a competitive analysis of a different app’s notifications page. This app was Meetup. This process was incredibly helpful because I attained a deep knowledge of information surrounding what a notifications feature should entail.
To give credit where credit is due: our group leader Jordan took it upon himself to apply the styles and touch up my notification screen drafts
Throughout our process, we had to get feedback from others in order to polish our app. Our main format of data gathering was from classmates and app reviews.
Visher, C., Debus, S., & Yahnerrb, J. (2008, October). Employment after prison: A longitudinal study of releasees in three states. Urban Institute Justice Policy Center. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/32106/411778-Employment-after-P rison-A-Longitudinal-Study-of-Releasees-in-Three-States.PDF
Ross, J. I., Richards, S. C., Newbold, G., Jones, R. S., Lenza, M., Murphy, D. S., Hogan, R., & Curry, G. D. (2010). Knocking on the Ivory Tower’s door: The experience of ex‐convicts applying for tenure‐track University Positions. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 22(2), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511251003778982
Freisthler, M., & Godsey, M. A. (2005). A Review of Collateral Consequences of Conviction, Post-Incarceration Employment, and Recidivism in Ohio. Heinonline. https://heinonline-org.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals%2Futol36&id =523&collection=journals&index=