Expert-centric design inspection of branded apps: a close look at marketing and interface design features
Information Technology & People
ISSN: 0959-3845
Article publication date: 17 May 2022
Issue publication date: 4 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Although brands have developed mobile applications (apps) to offer consumers new experiences, low app usage numbers indicate the need to develop a systematic, practical evaluation framework for branded app design that specifies concrete design features.
Design/methodology/approach
An expert review provides an overview of the design of current branded apps. On the basis of an extensive literature review, this article classifies state-of-the-art design features for branded apps according to a proposed evaluation framework that includes human–computer interaction (HCI)–related and marketing-related evaluation criteria. In an application of these evaluation criteria, the authors evaluate 73 branded apps issued by 11 top fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands.
Findings
The expert review identifies strengths and weaknesses that are common to the design of current branded apps. These findings inform the set of design recommendations that this article offers, which includes 14 features common to all types of apps and 9 features specific to particular types of apps.
Practical implications
This research offers practical implications for app designers, who need to address design dimensions contained in the proposed framework including the HCI-related (mobile, social and user experience design features) and marketing-related (branding and customer relationship management design features) to create effective branded apps.
Originality/value
Design elements identified in prior literature remain abstract and do not prescribe a systematic or pragmatic approach to using them in practice. This study takes a multidisciplinary perspective (HCI, marketing and design science) to establish a practical evaluation framework for branded app designs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61771297) and the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi, China (Grant No. 2022JM-334). The authors are grateful to Professor Christine Balagué, IMT Business School, who provided insights that initiated this research. The authors also thank Ma Li, Xu Shengyuan, Zou Yun, Zi Ran and Dong Minghua, representing the company Bri, for their help in discussing and clarifying the user experience design elements.
Citation
Zhao, Z. and Huang, Z. (2023), "Expert-centric design inspection of branded apps: a close look at marketing and interface design features", Information Technology & People, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 1385-1413. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-04-2021-0273
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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