3 career success stories to inspire Creative App Development students

Tue 1 Dec 2020

What Online Creative App Development Degree Students Can Learn from Instagram
Lessons from WhatsApp for Creative Application Development Students
Create an App like Workout Book with your Mobile App Development Degree

In today's ever connected society, people are using apps as a way to improve their fitness, manage their time more efficiently, and even express themselves creatively.

App downloads are expected to grow to 200 billion by 2017 as sales of smartphones and tablets continue to expand throughout the world, and more technologically advanced devices open up even more possibilities for new app capabilities. It's an exciting medium for creative app developers who can react to and anticipate technological advances and consumer demand.

You don't need to make a headline-grabbing SnapChat or WhatsApp to have a successful app. You may not even choose to create an app for mobile use; ‘app’ is short for ‘application’ and simply refers to a computer program, which could be designed for use on any number of different devices and operating systems.

While this post looks at three mobile apps, MA students in Falmouth Flexible’s Creative App Development program can apply the principles and lessons learned from their success to all types of app development projects across a range of platforms.

What Online Creative App Development Degree Students Can Learn from Instagram

Everyone is familiar with Instagram today, but when it was created in 2010, it seemed a risky move. Co-founder Kevin Systrom had a check-in beta called Burbn but noticed that users gravitated towards its photo-sharing function—"it's all about feedback based on behaviour," he explains. Intense market research revealed a potential niche in the crowded photography category between Hipstamatic and Facebook, combining fun filters and sociability. Several months of prototyping refined Instagram to require as few actions as possible. Instagram focused on solving three "problems":

  • Making photos beautiful
  • Sharing on multiple social networks
  • Uploading photos rapidly

online mobile development degree

Creative app developers can learn from Instagram's commitment to simplicity

Neither of its two founders had deep infrastructure experience but took advantage of the open culture of sharing technical insights and focused on fixing the simple things first. The app resisted common assumptions by making it easy to push photos to Facebook and Twitter, managing to "hide the slowness" by starting the upload process as soon as photos were taken and using a smaller file size. Timing is also important—Instagram launched shortly after the release of the iPhone 4, with its much improved screen and camera.

Lessons from WhatsApp for Creative Application Development Students

Co-founder Jan Koum famously signed the $19 billion deal to sell his company WhatsApp to Facebook at the building where he once stood in line to collect food stamps. His humble upbringing in a small Ukrainian village in the former Soviet Union influenced WhatsApp's refusal to carry advertising or collect user data. The founders' insistence on simplicity of the user experience and user security has rewarded their persistence as they overcame rejections and years of slow growth.

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WhatsApp made a compelling product that connects people without interference

WhatsApp's amazing viral success came from making a compelling product that connects people without any interference, disrupting the telecom industry in the process by enabling free communication throughout the world. It accommodates all types of smartphones, including different screens and data plans in emerging markets. Students pursuing a Creative App Development Degree can also learn from the strategic partnerships it makes with large local firms in developing countries.

Create an App like Workout Book with your Mobile App Development Degree

There are thousands of smaller success stories that choose a particular focus and do it very well. Numerous industries and special interest groups have recurring needs that apps are well suited for. The Workout Book app was designed by fitness enthusiasts Yalantis Mobile and Vitaly Rubstov who wanted to easily record workout progress without the frills of other apps.

A few screen taps allow users to customize their targeted exercise area and keep track of weights lifted and repetitions. Using simple colour coding and familiar mobile design, even first-time users can quickly get started. Aspiring app developers pursuing an Online Creative App Development Degree can similarly take existing concepts to the next level, applying their creativity to deliver the most essential functions in a fun and intuitive way.

Interested in completing a Masters in Creative Application Development without pausing your career?

Falmouth Flexible's Online Masters Degree in Creative App Development is designed by industry experts to enable success in this growing field.  

Creative App Development

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