WeatherBug is a leading source of weather information and a top destination for consumers worldwide. Through their website, desktop application, smartphone and tablet applications, more than 22 million users turn to WeatherBug for accurate weather data each month.

WeatherBug approached ADG to conduct a brand and product audit of their digital product line and design a next-generation look and feel that could translate across all platforms. We produced a wide range of design comps and full-motion visualizations introducing unique new ways of depicting weather using time and location-based motion graphics, including a new concept of weather-as-story.

Google Play Reviews

“Finally a fresh and attractive interface. The colors, font, graphics all top notch.”

During the course of the strategic design project, WeatherBug asked ADG to perform a tactical UI refresh of their flagship mobile product: WeatherBug Elite for Android.

Launched in January of 2013, … Read More »

As mentioned throughout this site, and specifically here, we will often take the time to put together 2D motion visualizations (in video) in order to “look ahead” to what a product might look and feel like – long before the actual (and drawn-out) pain of detailed wireframing, design and coding.

For the recent Verizon Apps store project, we wanted to provide Verizon management with a preview of how the interface might look in both a smartphone format as well as a tablet format. We also wanted to preview enhanced media types (e.g. video) in the interface long before the development schedule would get to that advanced version of the application.

This is our “Shoot for the Moon, Land on the Roof” motto in practice.

In this short motion comp, an early design version of the Apps store opens on a smartphone showing … Read More »

After a year of design and development, the new Verizon Apps store has launched to about 4 million devices, and will roll out to a total of around 22 million devices by the end of July, 2012.

The store is a ground-up redesign of the storefront application pre-loaded to the majority of Verizon Android devices. ADG was hired in January of 2011 to conduct a tactical redesign of Verizon’s prior store, and then a wholesale redesign of the store – for both smartphones and tablets – to be launched in 2012.

Key Features
Monochromatic framework to present highly flexible merchandising options
Simple UI controls with clear catalog navigation cues
Dramatically improved merchandising options for developers
“Responsive” mobile GUI to handle screen sizes resolution from wrist-top devices up to – potentially – tv screen size devices.
Full-screen dynamic wallpaper backgrounds, changing the face of the store daily
Support … Read More »

We’ve been a bit frustrated with the way Springboard handles “folders” in iOS, especially with the number of apps users are trying to manage seemingly going up, and also in light of the fact that the iPhone screen ratio is possibly about to change.

So we put together a concept video to try to generate conversation around the topic, which we wanted to start to circulate before WWDC.

Our primary objective was to see if we could envision a way to group apps without relying on the current “folder” approach, which we find awkward. This concept introduces virtual “pages” of grouped apps that can be titled (by the user, similar to how folders can be titled) but does not require the “drilling into and out of” folder actions that are currently deployed.

The user can simply pan (horizontally) between vertically scrolling “pages” in … Read More »

Nice review of Lumin, anecdotally, from Macdrifter.

Read the full review here.

We’ve submitted V2.0 of Lumin to the App Store for review and hoping for a general release soon. In the meantime, here are a few sneak preview screen shots.

We’re pretty excited about this release as it incorporates a few new features we wanted to include in V1.0, as well as great recommendations from the growing, and enthusiastic, Lumen user base.

We’ll post a full list of new features as soon as the app is available on the App Store, but the screens here should give you a few clues about what’s coming.

Cheers!

UPDATE: Lumin 2.0 is live in the app store!

Take Me ThereLumin V2.0, in the iTunes app store

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Good review of Lumin by Adam Engst at the venerable TidBITS site.

Link is here.

Lumin, the new iOS app designed by ADG with BitsOnTheGo, is steadily moving up the charts.

Released just one week ago, Lumin is ranking high in the Top Paid Lifestyle category, and currently sits at around 165th in the overall Top iPhone Apps (Paid) category. Andy Ihnatko at MacBreak Weekly just tapped Lumin as one of his recommended apps.

We’re pretty happy with the response so far. Thanks to everyone who has written glowing reviews. But there’s more to come: based on great feedback from our beta test group, and the rapidly growing user base, we have some killer enhancements in the works.

Lumin in iTunes App StoreGet your copy …

Lumin for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch.

Concept and development by Mahboud Zabetian of BitsOnTheGo, design by Applied Design Group. Please try it out if you’re interested. And honest reviews on the iTunes App Store are always welcome! Thanks! (Stay tuned for great new improvements already in the works.)

Get it!In the iTunes App Store now

“Clever twist on a camera app.”

“Great example of how to streamline an already simple concept with one simple feature – lock screen. Nice being able to choose camera roll or email, too. Buy it!”

“Lumin, glad you have arrived!”

“I have wondered why no one has done this yet. (well, maybe they have, but) This implementation is very well done. My eyes are 20/20, but even so the serial number on my MacMini was a snap to capture using this. … Read More »

ADG has always been focused primarily on strategy and design, but due to what we’ve seen as very strong demand for “last mile” assistance – driving the last 10% of successful app development that is often the most difficult – we’re pleased to announce the complement to ADG’s existing strengths: optimized.com.

Headed by ADG principal Mahboud Zabetian and a team of iOS and Android specialists, optimized is focused exclusively on technological fit and finish – the last 10% that often makes the difference between a successful app and a flop.

Optimized.com can quickly field experienced guerrilla teams against:

architectural & design reviews
code reviews
performance testing
even new design and/or development

As the development environments for desktop and particularly mobile become more approachable to new developers and designers, the challenge is to get an idea off of the drawing board and on to a device as quickly … Read More »