Brightkite for the iPhone

“We don’t want to release something that’s not rock solid. And, by rock solid, we don’t mean crashing, but rock solid from a usability standpoint,” said Martin May, cofounder of Brightkite. “The app should be as easy to use as possible. We have some very ambitious goals concerning the user interface, but getting it just right takes time.” So began my company’s first major iPhone project—building Brightkite’s native iPhone application. This challenging and energizing project set a bar for quality that, while still rare on the App Store, is one we strive to emulate or exceed with every application to which we lend our name. The Brightkite iPhone project was successful because of not only unprecedented focus on design and usability but the close collaboration between Brightkite and my company, Double Encore, Inc. There were many challenges during the process, but the lessons learned during that first major project contributed to Double Encore’s continued presence in this niche industry.