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 UX, created the mocks, and coordinated asset production for all 6 resolutions. The client's goal was to include 60% of the Globe Investor website into the mobile application. Through extensive brainstorming and wireframing, we achieved that and more — creating the client's most successful app to date. Voted one of the top financial apps of 2011 by Apple Canada.
The Challenge
We needed to give users instant access to specific stocks while being able to browse the colossal amount of content the client's website contained. We centered the home screen around the "My Watchlist" feature and built a robust search system. After interviewing investment bankers and stock brokers, I realized constantly checking stocks on your phone wasn't the ideal use case — the iPad version was designed with more density for that more deliberate usage pattern.
Working Across Platforms
There wasn't a lot of great mobile prototyping software at the time, so we iterated on-device. The Globe and Mail team pushed us to justify every decision, which made the work stronger. In total we provided mocks, assets, and spec sheets for 6 resolutions over 3 platforms (iOS, BlackBerry, iPad). It was common for us to be working across all three major platforms simultaneously — we were well-versed in platform-specific conventions and how to port between them.