01.OVERVIEW
Terra Forma finds us in the near future after the partial terraforming of Mars. Our web app allows traveling colonists to plan their utopia before even landing on Mars.
Terra Forma finds us in the near future after the partial terraforming of Mars. Our web app allows traveling colonists to plan their utopia before even landing on Mars.
The major challenge for Martian colonists will be infrastructure. They will need to build protected shelters, and recover and reuse basic resources like water, oxygen, and even food supplies in order to survive and eventually thrive. Terra Forma can give every colonist the chance to submit designs for their infrastructure needs, and save them for review.
We begin to brainstorm and refine the goal of building an app for Martian colonists. Our vision of an already "Green Mars" led to the organic color palette of our entire website. After a vision board was created we had a sturdy foundation to blast off from. Each group member selected tasks to build out that best fit their talents as a designer.
Early testing included a web survey sent to our Epicodus peers and friends. We then created low-fidelity wireframes that transformed into medium-fidelity mock-ups and helped shape the project's style. After refinements these mock-ups were turned into a fully functioning prototype of the app as envisioned. Custom icons and other visual elements were crafted throughout the process.
Our main objective was to design a community planning tool for colonists so they can save and submit them to the mission commander. The commander's role is then to evaluate the colony plans before landing. Four actual Martian landscapes with exact coordinates were used to create a realistic web application. Hovering over a point on the map magnifies the image to show a more accurate depiction of the colony site. A resource bar at the bottom of the app is used to place buildings onto the map to build their future home.
The result is a functioning inVision prototype built from Sketch wireframes and mock-ups. This design case study showcases this team's skills collaboratively and as indivduals.
Megan Kaluza
Alex Jacks
Addison Nishijima
Marty Fitchen
