My first [solo] iOS app: Bedtime Stories
Hi everyone! I’m finally [attempting to] writing again. I want to share the app I developed for my first Nano Challenge at Apple Developer Academy @Binus. I created this in 9 days from conceptualizing to finish, so it’s not perfect, but I’m pretty proud of it. For this challenge, we had to find a personal story that we could tell through an app. When the challenge was announced, I went blank and had no idea what personal story was memorable for me to tell. I tried looking back, but no specific moment came to mind. However, I did find a common theme that was constant throughout my life, which was my love for books and reading.
So, I started from there. I asked myself, “What made me like to read in the first place?” I traced it back and realized I loved reading even before I can read! How, you might ask? Bedtime stories.
Background Story
My parents would try their best to read for me whenever they had the chance. As a firstborn with two working parents and no sibling at the time, being at home only accompanied by a nanny gets lonely. I realized that I always look forward to my parents coming home from work to read for me. But, it is not always the case that they can be back home on time, and by the time I would’ve fallen asleep already. This made me question if other kids are like me or, even more, kids who have to be away from their parents for a longer period due to the nature of the parents’ job. It makes me sad thinking about that because I feel like the books I read changed me into the person I am today, and had I not have that experience when I was younger, I don’t think I would be the same person. Thus, I decided to create Bobo.
Bobo is an app that helps busy parents stay in touch with their children through voice recording, paired with visual illustrations that can create a compelling audiovisual bedtime story experience for the child.
I picked the word Bobo since I thought it fitted the theme. The term ‘bobo’ is Indonesian slang for ‘sleep.’ It is usually used affectionately, often from parents to child. Its popularity can be attributed to the lullaby Nina Bobo parents would sing their kids to sleep.
Design
Initially, I thought I had to create an iPhone app, so my wireframe and lo-fi prototype were all made for iPhone. But then, when we had a peer feedback session, a friend suggests that apps for kids are better suited for iPad. I realized that they were right, and I immediately changed everything. This is what I appreciate the most about the academy; honest and constructive feedback makes us grow and become better.
Since I came from a tech background with little knowledge of design, this part was challenging since it was my first time designing for a larger format and picking out everything alone. I decided to go with a dark purple-pinkish color since it gives the dreamy vibes I was going for. I also drew some of the ‘illustrations’ you see here. I can’t draw, but hey, I tried~ I also created everything with Sketch and Marvel.
Tech
Since this is only our second challenge, and my first challenge alone, I was still unfamiliar with Swift & Xcode. On the first challenge, my role was a UX Designer, and I didn’t really code much, so it took me a lot of time to understand and grasp this new environment.
As for the frameworks, I mainly use UIKit, CoreData, AVFoundation, and a little CoreAnimation. I also learned how to create custom components with XIB. Bottom line, I had the chance to explore a lot, and I am now more comfortable with Swift! It’s easier once you understand the basics. I want to share more of the development side on a separate article focusing on the specific topics I want to elaborate on further. Please look forward to that! I’m excited as this marks my first steps in becoming a better iOS Developer.
Final Takeaways
While the app is far from perfect, and of course, there are bugs here and there. I’m happy and satisfied with what I’ve managed to develop and how much I learned along the way. Through this challenge, I learned:
- No story is unworthy of telling, and an app can stem from anything.
- Learn to take and give constructive feedback.
- Ask. Ask. Ask! Don’t be afraid to ask, and learn to ask the right questions.
- Explore. Try to do as much as you want, and if you fail, that’s fine. At least you can say that you’ve tried, and next time you can learn from that mistake.
- If anything, the academy’s mentors always emphasize that you’ve got to trust yourself and enjoy the process. The result is a bonus.
I want to thank my mentors, Kak Alfred, Pak Har, and Pak Wil, for helping me with this challenge. Thanks for becoming my guiding resources for the past nine days! I couldn’t have done it without your support!
