The Client’s Challenge
Inviite is a British tech start-up that had secured angel investment to design and develop a minimum viable product (MVP) of an app as a proof of concept.

The client had an idea for a ‘social discovery app’ – the first app of its kind to incentivise users in real life, with real-time on-site promotions. The app would focus on engaging communities, local areas and universities. It would also provide large venues and events with on-premise analytics. This data would allow festival and club promoters to understand which parts of their venue or entertainment were most popular with the audience, providing in-venue marketing opportunities.

The client wanted to build a strong relationship with an agency to deliver on all aspects of the project, from branding to UI/UX and development.

Our Approach
With their social discovery app, Inviite boasts a complex technical solution. The first step in the project was to check the viability of the product. A detailed technical specification was drawn up by our lead chief technology officer (CTO), who suggested the use of beacon technology to deliver on the founder's concept. This technical specification became the UI/UX and development phase of the project's blueprint.

As the UI/UX process commenced, we developed user personas to identify Inviite's audience segments and observe their pain points and aspirations. These user personas became our guide to decision-making around both branding and UI/UX.

Inviite's visual identity needed to be created with broad user segments in mind, so it needed general commercial appeal to engage the target demographic effectively. The brand was designed to engage a mass-market, mainstream audience. Due to Inviite's use of new technology, it was crucial that the brand immediately established trust with its audience. Therefore, it was important that the brand design felt safe and friendly.

The logo mark and wider visual identity use iconography, symbolism, tame colourways and sans-serif fonts to create an approachable brand. The use of imagery was crucial to engage the audience in varied social situations. To expand the brand further, supporting marketing materials were designed. These included brochures, exhibition banners, investment and sales presentations, and general stationery.

The UI/UX process enabled us to make a fairly complex interface as simple as possible for both the customer user group and the venue manager – each with its own dashboard and tailored functionality. The app design was slick and aesthetically pleasing, holding visual synergy with the leisure brands it would be featuring in-app.

Developing the app for Apple and Android phones, tablets and desktop was an involved, lengthy process. It required technically advanced coding knowledge and skill, making use of iBeacon technology and Bluetooth connectivity for in-venue analytics.

The Outcome
The project ran over 18 months from conceptualisation to launch.

Within this period, we created all brand assets as well as an MVP version of the app. To facilitate this complex technical solution, we partnered with iBeacon provider, Estimote. This partnership allowed for pre-launch iBeacon in-environment testing at a handful of venues, as a proof of concept.

Through our work with the client, the founder was introduced to an app industry expert, through which they secured a deal for launch in Dubai.