Overview
We were approached by the Globe and Mail to create the Globe Investor app for iOS, Blackberry, and iPad. I art directed, designed the user experience, created the mocks in photoshop for iOS and iPad, and coordinated the production of assets for all 6 resolutions (gasp!).
I loved working with the Globe and Mail guys. They were super smart. We collaborated the entire way through and they pushed us to justify our decisions. At the time their wasn't a lot of great mobile prototyping software. So we had to iterate on software on device.
In creating this application we needed to give the user to access specific stocks instantly while also being able to browse the colossal amount of content the client's website contained. We created a number of systems to solve this puzzle including a robust search and by centering the home screen around the "My Watchlist" feature. The app was later voted one of the top financial apps of 2011 by Apple Canada.
Wireframes
The clients goal was to include 60% of the Globe Investor website into the mobile application. Through an extensive brainstorming / wireframing process, we achieved the 60% and more, creating a product that has been the clients most successful app to date. I've posted the basic flow from cold launch to detail view for iPad above.
Since iPad is a slightly different use case than phone we showed more information on the screen including a ticker with the user's "watchlist" of stocks they were following. I thought the more realistic use-case for the Globe Investor was more inline with the habits of an iPad user. After interviewing investment bankers, and stock brokers I realized that it probably wasn't a good thing to be constantly checking your stock's value. Having it on your phone was less useful in that case.
Working in multiple resolutions / platforms
A couple of concept mocks to illustrate the platform specific UX for Blackberry. I directed a junior designer who worked on this platform but didn't have much mobile experience. In total we had to provide mocks, assets and spec sheets for 6 resolutions over 3 platforms. That didn't include iPad which we never finished because we were aquired by Zynga first.
It was common for us to be working with all 3 major platforms (Android, BlackBerry and iOS) so we were well versed on the platform specific conventions and how to port an app from one to another.