Background

Every year, Canada welcomes nearly 500,000 newcomers seeking to build a life here. Many settle in Ottawa, eager to integrate into the local community. However, isolation and a lack of connection can hinder their ability to thrive. Newcomers often feel stuck, finding it difficult to find reliable information about housing or immigration, unable to find friends, share their discoveries, or build a network that embraces their diverse cultures.

Recognizing this challenge, entrepreneur Ayodeji Oyo approached our team, Insight, to develop a solution leveraging social enterprise and technology. Over the last four months, we’ve worked together to propose a solution to these challenges.

Solution

Home App, a cross-platform mobile application, aims to bridge the gap for newcomers in Ottawa. It aspires to create a sense of belonging and make them feel like they've truly arrived. We, the development team, understand these challenges intimately. Composed primarily of international students and immigrants, we've faced similar experiences.

My role

As the Design Lead, I jumped right in to understand our user base. Through user research, we identified the daily challenges faced by newcomers. To tackle these issues and celebrate diversity, I spearheaded the creation of the Home brand identity. This included developing the brand kit and crafting a logo animation that brings the brand to life.

During the development stage, I actively contributed to the front end of core features, including the splash screen, main screen UI, bottom navigation, and create-post flow. This project has allowed me to apply my knowledge of Flutter's core features and explore various libraries like Firebase for backend integration, flutter_staggered_grid_view for dynamic layouts, and image manipulation libraries like image_picker and image_cropper.

Beyond core functionality, I've placed a strong emphasis on user experience by implementing smooth animations and engaging page transitions. For example, leveraging a library called flutter_speed_dial, I implemented a unique animation for the FAB button to choose post types, enhancing user engagement.