The first version of the Tidewell app looked great on my desk. On the pier, in November, with salt spray on the screen, it was useless.

Stand where they stand

I spent two mornings at the harbour with a printed prototype. People held their phones at arm’s length, squinted, and gave up after one scroll.

So the next boat became the only thing on the first screen, set in type big enough to read with gloves on.

Assume the signal drops

The timetable now caches on first launch. If the pier has no signal, the app still knows when the next boat leaves.