As part of my first set of workshops for my Digital Media course I have been given the task of designing an interface for a digital media product that could be used by the local government.
Naturally my first thoughts were to look into the world of mobile apps as they are becoming increasingly versatile and widely available. After some initial research I settled on the idea of designing an app that could serve to help local governments fight crime.
It is estimated that graffiti costs the UK over £1 billion per year to clean up. I have decided to design an app that will aid local councils in better identifying and cleaning up graffiti and vandalism as well as giving the public a better platform to report incidents.
Whilst researching similar existing products I have found the GraffitiSTOP App
The app allows the user to view a map of where graffiti in has been reported in their local area.
Users are also able to use the app to report instances of graffiti by taking a picture and marking the location on a map. This information can then be seen and used by the local authorities.
I think this is a very interesting idea and will use it as a basis for my design.
I have several ideas on how my design could improve on this product.
- The app could be expanded to enable the user to report other types of minor crime such as vandalism of public property and fly tipping.
- My design would also implement a response system that allows the local authority to send push notifications and updates to users once the reported problem has been dealt with. This would enable better communication between local authorities and the public.
I know from my own experience that dealing with local authorities can be incredibly frustrating and it can often seem that complaints are lost in a sea of red tape. I believe my app design can cut past a lot of this and greatly increase the efficiency in which these incidents are dealt with.