Now what?

So yesterday I didn't get to work on my app at all. I did get to spend time with my niece and had a nice lunch with her before she left for college. Now I have to decide if I want to purchase Photoshop in order to use the template for the iPhone app design, become a member of Apple's developer program and have the tools I need, pay someone else to complete the design, or go with what I have so far and start looking for a programmer. I need to do some research and find the most cost effective way to complete this. I'm still hopeful that it can be part of my Master's thesis project, so at least that gives me a reason to finish it soon. Anyone have experience with any of these options? Feel free to leave me a message/advice.

Starting an app from scratch

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I blogged last. Well, it is summer after all...and I have been enjoying it. I hope you have too. With classes starting soon, and my niece leaving soon, I have been giving my iphone app lots of thought and will try to finish the design part of it on friday...yes, this friday!! Right after I get my new crown put on at the dentist. I thought I would blog about making this iPhone app from the beginning. This post has had a lot of readers so I thought I would detail the process that got my app going. First, I had an idea for an app that would make certain duties easier and possibly more efficient for teachers. I made a copy of an iPhone template and pasted 3 on a page (see photo). Then I began really thinking about how my app would work. For instance, what would the "home" screen look like, when I tap on this what happens? I began to draw it out. This step takes a lot of patience and thought. There are also templates (like these) you can use to make your sketches more exact (and better looking). After drawing out the entire app I enlisted the help of my niece who is a wiz at photoshop to help me design it. This requires downloading a free template with all the buttons, scrolly bars, etc. and using it with photoshop. We took each sketch and transformed it into an actual prototype (only the buttons don't work of course because that requires programming). So, this is the part I will, hopefully, finish this friday. Then I will hire a programmer (because I don't have time to learn how to do it myself) to make my app work. If you have an idea for an app why not give it a try.