Sub-Atlantic Application – Evaluation

In this post I will evaluate my application, and talk about the reasoning behind each individual aspect of my app. First of all I will talk about the name that I have given my application “Sub-Atlantic”. I gave my app this name because the word “Sub” refers to going under water which is what you do on my application you go under water into the Atlantic to discover the wreckage of the battle, and it also refers to submarines which I discuss within my app. When creating my application I tried my hardest to create an immersive experience for the user, but at the same time reaching out to my target audience.

Colours Scheme
For the colour scheme I wanted it to apear to be dark and cold, so I used a strong black with different tones of faded blue across my app to create that cold underwater Atlantic experience. The colour scheme I used for the titles of my application is a burnt orange, it stands out bold against the dark background so its easy to spot and realise straight away what each individual subject is about, the orange colour also is supposed to represent rust which relates to the ruins under the Atlantic. Across the application points are highlighted in red, such as the fatality’s on sunken ships this allows for these points to stand out from the background and also keeps them separate from the titles.

For the paragraphs of text you find as you go down the application I used a standard white, which also stands out from the background. The colour scheme I have used makes it easy for my target audience a Dyslexic, to read the text against the dark dull background, it allows for the content to stick out among the application. Another thing I had in mind when using the dull colour scheme across the background of my application, refers back to my target audience as well, because Dyslexics struggle when reading off of a bright screen, I made sure I kept the colours neutral so its not as intense when looking at the screen.

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 Content

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Typography
The type I used for my application, for the titles i used “Agency FB” this font fit extremely well with the feel of my app, it looks industrial and looks as though it could be used on the side of a U-boat for the name of the ship, along with the colour orange it kind of creates the affect that the titles are part of the wreckage as well. For the paragraphs of text I used “Franklin Gothic Book” this relates to my target audience a Dyslexic, I was going to use a font called “Read Regular” which is a Dyslexic friendly font, but I could not find where to download this font, but the font that I have used is a sans serif which Dyslexics find very easy to read from.

Interactivity
The interactivity on my application are a number of interactive buttons I based the design of the buttons on an old ww2 radio, when you click on the button a video pops up or a sound clip. My idea behind these interactive buttons was to make them look as though they are wreckage from the ships floating around to the side of the time line, the buttons locate next to certain subjects and allow the user to choose between reading about a subject or watching a video on it or listening to a sound clip.

My idea behind the roll overs that contain the video players and sound players, I used a black container for this i tried to recreate the look of oil spillage in the water, again it relates back to the wreckages of the ships, I used orange again for these video players and sound clips again to make them stand out from the background.

Time Scale
My idea behind the time scale was to re-create a guide line for a diver, this relates back to going down into the water as a diver to discover the ruins of the battle for yourself, on the time scale to tell the user what year they are in I used a red light at the top of each individual time scale, so the user can easily tell what year they are reading about, the red also stands out from the dark background.

For my secondary time scale I themed it as a pressure gauge that would be used on a submarine, as you go down into the water the gauge pressures up its as though your going down in time. It creates that feel as though your going under water, I wanted it to create a level of immersiveness in my application.

Quotations

Breaking up my time scale are quotations from Winston Churchill and Hitler, the first quotation by Churchill sets the tone for the app, “The Battle Of The Atlantic Is The Only Thing That Ever Frightened Me”, it makes the app quite scary in a way my approach to this was to trying and make the user wonder what they are going to see under the waters of the Atlantic.

The Battle Of The Atlantic – Nearly Finished

My application tells the story of The Battle Of The Atlantic start to finish, I have only managed to finish three years of its story so far, because their is so much information to portray in my app. Because The Battle Of The Atlantic is the longest lasting battle of WWII, I have finished my designs and my research, I now just need to finish off the last three years of Battle, I just thought I might as well put it up here to show my progress.

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Sub-Atlantic Application

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Battle Of The Atlantic – Application – Interactivity

In this post I will showcase some of the designs I have created for my application, for the interactive buttons, and roll overs that are used on the mock-up for my application and my secondary time scale.

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Interactive Button – Roll Over

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Below as you can see I have attempted to recreate an old WWII radio, this will be an interactive button on my application, The reason I have chosen to do it like this is because I loved the idea of using wreckage from the actual ships as interactive buttons. The only reason I have not used actual images for my buttons is because they did not fit in with the application, so I created this icon.

Once you click on this interactive button a video or an audio clip will play, and go into a bit more detail about a subject it will be floating next to. Accompanying these buttons will be a short piece of information, this gives the user and option between reading about the subject or watching or listening.

Here you can see what the interactive button looks like on the application, I have positioned them so it looks as though they are floating around to the sides. The white really makes the icons stand out from the background as well, which is very important when it comes to spotting the buttons. I have also added some radio signals coming out of the side so it looks as though its active.

Bellow is one of the roll overs, it comes up with a video that goes into greater detail about the subject the interactive button is floating next to. My idea behind the roll over was, to black out the background when the video comes in, because like the idea behind the wreckage being my interactive button, I wanted it to look like old oil coming from one of the ships.

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Time Scale – Secondary Time Scale

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The inspiration for my main time scale came from guide lines that divers use when they go deep-sea diving, I wanted it to be central to the page and its as though your following it down to go and check something out under water. My main inspiration for this app was to make something that was visually immersive in that way, its kind of like your going under water to discover the wreckage of the battle yourself. On the top of each time scale is the year, that looks like a red flashing light that stands out among the rest of the application, this is so its clear you know what year you’re in on the app. As you can see below is a picture of my main time scale.

After creating the main time scale I decided the user needs to be able to transfer between the years a lot quicker than just scrolling down the page to each year individually. So I came up with this secondary time scale inspired by a pressure gauge you will find on board of a WWII submarine, I loved the idea of keeping it attached to your screen as you go down like it’s a piece of your apparatus for the user, and as you go down the dial slowly goes up, but you can also click on the years to quickly shoot down to a different year. Its like your going down in time as the dial goes up, as though its building up pressure, as a submarine would do if it was going deeper and deeper under water. Just below is my secondary time scale, and below that is the pressure gauge I based it off.

The Battle Of The Atlantic – History – Research

In this post I will showcase the pieces of research I have conducted that will be used in my application on the Battle Of The Atlantic, and highlight the areas I will be adding into my application. The battle of the Atlantic is the longest lasting warfare during WWII, so there is a lot of information to fit into my application.

Below the History section are some quotes that I will be using the break up my time line, in between the different years.

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The Battle Of The Atlantic – History

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1939 – Britain Declairs War On Hitlers Germany
During 1939 the German’s invade Poland. Shortly after Britain Declairs war on Germany. Britain then sends merchant navy vessels over to aid the people of Poland, before the war began Hitler had dispatched 39 U-boats into the Atlantic along with German war ships Deutschland & Dochplay & the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee.

During the first weeks of battle the first allied navy vessels to be sank where, SS Athenia which was sank by the German U-boat U-30 killing 128. Shortly after the allied Navy vessel HMS Courageous was sank by the U-boat U-29 killing 500, Then the allied Navy Vessel HMS Royal Oak was sank by the German U-boat U-49 killing 833. The fatality of the allies was in great numbers during the first few weeks of battle.

Total Ships Sunk – 1939 (222 ships)

1940 – Hitler Invades Norway And Denmark
In the spring of 1940, the German attack on allied merchant ships was abandoned, The U-boat fleet retreated to equip for Hitlers invasion on Denmark and Norway.

During the invasion of Norway Hitler layed out a fleet of U-boats and war ships along the shores of Oslow, the allies attacked ruthlessly. The Total German vessels lost 4 – Cruisers, 9 – Destroyers, 4 – U-boats. After Hitlers losses upon the shores of Oslow, he had a new plan for The Battle Of The Atlantic, he ordered for the mass production of his most successfully weapons in the Atlantic his U-boats. Winston Churchill is thought to have said, that the U-boats are the only things that worried him during the war, and actually considered surrendering to the Germans.

During 1940 Winston Churchill made a deal with Frankly D. Roosevelt, called the Lend Lease Act. Roosevelt promised 50 American first world Destroyers to aid the British Merchant ships, and a quarter of the US military. In return Roosevelt wanted to use British bases located in the Caribbean.

Total Ships Sunk – 1940 (1059)

1941 – The Lend – Lease Act and The American Get More Involved In The War
In 1941 the lend-lease act finally came into power, and American War ships started escorting British navy vessels across the Atlantic.

Operation Primrose
This operation played a massive part in the fight against Hitlers U-boats. Allied War ships HMS Aubretia and British Destroyer Broadway Successfully capture U-boat U-110, the crew aboard the U-boat were ordered off of the vessel, and then shot by Aubretia once the U-boat surface. This benefited the allies because, on board the U-boat where enigma machine codes this allowed for the allies to track U-boats across the Atlantic.

USS Niblack was the first american war ship to see action during The Battle Of The Atlantic, is dropped depth charges when a U-boat was entering American territory in the Atlantic. In June 1941 the Americans joined the Battle Of The Atlantic.

Total Boats Sank – 1941 – (1328)

1942 – The Germans Take The Upper Hand
In 1942 the Germans took the upper hand again, after the loss on the shores of Oslow Hitlers U-boats where coming into the Atlantic at 20 per month. Even though the Americans had entered the war in the Atlantic, they where not able to prevent the loss of 500 ships in between January and June. 1941 was a turning point in the Battle Of The Atlantic, the allies had lost their grip on the battle.

Total Boats Sunk – 1942 (1159)

1943 – The Allies Take The Upper Hand
in 1943 the allies finally regained the upper hand among the Germans in the Atlantic, the allies now had aircraft carriers and long range air craft to cover the Atlantic. A new innovation called the “Hedge-Hog” depth charge used by the allies was creating a terror for the U-boats, in May now labelled “Black May” in 1943, the losses of U-boats was growing one-quarter of Hitlers U-boat fleet was destroyed during “Black May” all because of the “Hedge-Hog” depth charge. Hitler withdrew his U-boat fleet from the Atlantic once again, the battle was won.

Total Boats Sank – 1943 (463)

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Battle Of The Atlantic – Quotes

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Winston Churchill – “The Battle Of The Atlantic is the only thing to ever frighten me”

Adolf Hitler – “Our Losses… Have Reached An Intolerable Level”

Winston Churchill – “Without Ships, We Cannot Win”

Winston Churchill – “The U-Boats, Are The Only Thing That Ever Made Me Consider Surrendering To The Germans.”