Calyx features a virtual Tree in which topics can be created for educational purposes, or professional projects. Groups are formed under these topics, and each group is assigned a different task or sub-topic by the group creator. When a user enters the "Tree", options like entering a group, or seeing other groups' activities or uploads are possible. It also features a scheduler that helps the group to organize their time and changes its color when the work is done. In order to achieve the best user experience, we have designed an easily-accessible and organized layout for the app. The best option for the user interface design was chosen to be Material Design by Google, for its simplicity and modern form. In this readme, we first start with the presentation of the general user interface features of the design, starting with the main facilities' designs, then continuing with more detailed analysis of specific components that make the artful part of the design, then finish with detailed analysis of each screen of activity and a wireframe (storyboard) of the whole user path through the application.
Calyx contains three main elements to keep the groups focused and organized: The Pigments, Grove and Leaf. Grove is a collection of different groups, named "Trees", specific to the user. The user can join different Trees by searching for these trees by their categories or names. Some Trees are private, some are public which makes the group more convenient. Each Tree has Leaves which are sub-groups under the Tree's specific sub- topic. Different users can post their thoughts, questions, findings, etc. about that specific sub-topic on their Leaves and see other posts about that same topic. Furthermore, these trees can be discovered or subscribed from the Grovelot panel.
The word "Grove" represents "a small group of trees". To make everything more organized and simple, Grove shows the Trees as a list. The name, description, creators name and the number of Leaves posted in any Tree can be seen in the user's Grove. Every user's Grove is special as it only contains the Trees the user joined to, which makes it easier for the user to find what they are looking for. The user can also create a Tree by tapping the hovering plus button located at the lower right corner of the Grove screen. Another element makes Grove special is the accessibility options it presents to the user. The user can easily reach their profile, settings screen, the "Grovelot" which other Trees can be found in, Pigments and other properties of the app are present in the sliding screen called "Grove Drawer" (Figure 11), making this section of the app like a control panel.