This week, we started laying the groundwork for our project. We built out the beginning of each page, and some are already close to their final stage. Right now, most of the buttons just take you from page to page, but with this framework in place, we will be ready to start backend development next week. That is when the buttons will start being able to do anything beyond navigation.
One feature we worked on was the collapsible sidebar, which I helped to build alongside another teammate. I added the icons and polished the design by matching colors to our branding and making the buttons change color when you are hovering or on that specific page. It is a small detail, but it makes the interface feel more polished.
I also started to set up our global CSS file, adding in our fonts and color palette so we can reuse them easily as we go, instead of having to go back later to fix them. Hopefully, that saves us a lot of time in the long run.
Lastly, I created the base layout for the account settings page. The buttons are all there, like change name, password, email, or delete account, but for now, they do not have functionality yet.
I am excited (and a little nervous) to dive into the backend development next week. Focusing on the UI first was definitely the right move, since it gave us time to better understand React and how everything would fit together. Hopefully, next week goes as smoothly as this one did!
As a group, we kept pushing the prototype forward. We reorganized the settings page, breaking it into clearer sections so it is easier to find what you are looking for. The dashboard got upgraded too. Instead of cluttering the screen with every bit of data at once, we made the graphs and pie charts clickable. Now, a user can click on a chart to expand it to full screen and see the description only when they need it. This feels a lot more user-friendly.
To top it off, we locked in the tasks for our first sprint, which starts next month. Having that list ready means we can hit the ground running when it is time to start turning this prototype into an actual working product.
Seeing everything come together like this is exciting since it is starting to feel less like a concept and more like the real thing.
