Client Project: Energy App
In Brief
- Type: Flutter App
- Period: 2023
- Client Project
The Project
This project involved developing an app for managing home energy solutions. Therefore, it was important to display various metrics, such as the production of a photovoltaic system or the charge status of an electric car.
Special attention was paid to conveying a “premium” product, which is why a lot of time was invested in developing extraordinary UI elements. Additionally, a motion designer was hired to create a concept for animations in the app.
The project began with a multi-week conceptual phase during which various ideas were tested. Afterward, a first version was implemented for release with a steadily growing team.
My Role in the Project
For this project, I was hired as a freelancer and was involved from the initial phase through to release.
My tasks in the project were therefore diverse:
- Planning and conceptualizing the app architecture
- Creating proof-of-concepts (POCs) in the area of app animations
- Sparring partner for the motion designer, regarding the feasibility of certain animation concepts
- Implementation of complex graphic elements with a focus on the highest quality execution
- Connection to a REST interface for displaying various data
- Joint conception with the design team and assistance with best practices in app development.
The 3 Most Important Insights for Future Projects
1. Flutter offers a great toolkit for creating animations
Animations in Flutter are not an extra feature but are deeply integrated into the framework. This allows the use of animations without much additional effort.
2. Too many animations harm performance
Animations can give apps “that special something.” However, too many and too lengthy animations are bad for app performance and can irritate users.
3. The larger the team, the more important documentation becomes
The project grew rapidly. Since good documentation was prioritized from the beginning, it was possible for new developers to quickly familiarize themselves with the project.
