Designing a Mobile App that works for your Brand

Building a multi-purpose app has its pros and cons. It’s the dilemma for mobile app developers, architects, product managers and strategists. Are there any best practices?

Just earlier this week on 22 July, Cogs Hong Kong supported yet another great digital event by HK Techneeks. The topic of the evening was “Creating a Winning Mobile App Strategy”, presented by Valter Santos Matos, Director of Engineering at Hong Kong-based Fintech giants, 8 Securities.

The audience was a mixture of working professionals; digital marketers, product owners, developers and members of R ONE Space, our event partner and venue sponsor.

Valter is responsible for transitioning 8 Securities’ products from their initial web-based to mobile apps. Currently, he is working on a new app that will merge the company’s products, Chloe and 8App.

His extensive experience in the backend and front-end usability of mobile apps make him the ideal speaker for this topic.

Valter’s discussion was heavily on the debate of multi-purpose app vs. single-purpose app (or features vs. purpose) as organisations and brands e.g. Facebook, Grab, GoJek, Wechat continue to sit on the fence about this.

He classifies features as software capabilities and purpose as what the user wants to achieve. Valter weighs the pros and cons of both camps and highlights the performance outcomes of the two options to the audience.

He also used his projects at 8Securities, Chloe and Tradeflix as live case studies to showcase the value delivered to the business and their consumers. In his current role, he developed Chloe, an automatic investment app. Prior to this, 8Securities was mostly web-based.

Valter and his team were pivotal in transitioning 8Securities from the web apps to the mobile apps platform. This helped the business to acquire more users and boosted the convenience of usability. Subsequently, he undertook the project of migrating the company’s brokerage business from a web-portal into another app called Tradeflix, which was subsequently replaced by its second and current iteration called 8App.

The results from their actions were impactful for the business. However, at the end of the day, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for mobile apps. When designing and developing an app, always bear in mind who your users are and what value does your company hope to deliver to them.

Thank you R ONE Space for the productive, stylish space in Causeway Bay. The view of Victoria Harbour wowed the attendees during the networking session. If you’re a digital nomad or a start-up looking to set up your Hong Kong office, please contact them here.

About R ONE

A co-working space brand in Hong Kong supporting young entrepreneurs and start-ups in Causeway Bay and Kwun Tong.

R ONE Space is a ground-breaking co-working space brand in Hong Kong. The 24-hour space is comprised of private offices, event spaces, meeting rooms, hot desks, a common area and private phone booths. R ONE Space allows you to focus on your work and day-to-day with complimentary professional accounting, legal and other business-related consultation services. Tenants are encouraged to interact with one another to inspire and promote collaborative opportunities.

R ONE Space in Causeway Bay offers a corporate event venue that rivals that of hotel event spaces with the iconic Victoria Harbour as its backdrop. The venue has a capacity of over 100 and is appropriate for a wide array of events, from seminars, conferences and receptions, exhibitions, festive parties and even yoga classes – the possibilities are endless.

With a location in the creative and cultural hub in East Kowloon, R ONE Space in Kwun Tong offers over 400 work stations to support young entrepreneurs and start-ups with a range of lease options and support services. This centre also offers a corporate event venue that has a capacity of over 140 people. It is equipped with a mobilised TV wall that supports live syncing with the venue in Causeway Bay centre, enabling press conferences, workshops, seminars and the like, to be conducted simultaneously in two locations.

Want to receive invites for future digital and technology events?

If you’re based in Hong Kong and have the thirst for all things digital, why not join HK Techneeks? It’s a local community that Cogs Agency Hong Kong supports. We work together with corporate clients in the fields of technology and design to bring you events like these. In doing this, we hope to bridge the digital gap through learning and sharing. Expect a variety of digital topics ranging from the technical aspects to user experience know-how.