SemaConnect App Design
Project Summary
I was the design lead for this app-redesign project for the EV Charging Company, SemaConnect. Prior to this, we were tasked with rebranding them and redesigning their website (a project for which I was also the web design lead). SemaConnect’s app was outdated and not using modern app patterns, the design lacked hierarchy the design needed to match the new brand the Bluetext team had established. The main purpose of the app is for users to locate electric chargers on a map. A user should be able to also find out the power output of the chargers that are on the map. A secondary feature of the app is for users to maintain their personal at-home chargers.
The Problem
Aside from the issues mentioned above, the SemaConnect product team was also suffering from poor app performance and reviews. In the home screen below there is a lack of clarity for what icons actually represent and the popup experience is outdated and leads to too many taps for user to have quick info at-a-glance.
Research and Competitive Analysis (click to zoom)
The first step was to perform a comprehensive Competitor analysis. The goal was to highlight what competitors were doing right and sometimes wrong. We also looked into different market apps such as, Starbucks, Yelp, AirBnB, and Apple Maps
Key Findings
Our research uncovered a couple of key findings, the first being that a nav bar was not always needed. There would still be navigation in the burger menu but the main functionality of the app could be accomplished without the visual interference that existed before. That space was now going to be used for our second key finding, The Sheet Overlay.
The following screens show the user flow after tapping on one of the listing items/charging stations. The user is presented with a cropped sheet with some info but a user can then expand the sheet for more info and to begin a charge. The great thing about the sheet overlay functionality is that the map is never far or truly hidden.
What I learned
This project has yet to be fully implemented, we were not scoped with development and SemaConnect was acquired by one of their competitors during the redesign process. Therefore, there is a small chance the project gets scrapped entirely. I learned a lot during this project and personally wish I did more of this specific style of work. I have found that the true design process of defining the problem, researching, ideating, designing and prototyping (and repeat!) is one I don’t really get to do in other projects and this was an eye-opening experience. Please note that this portfolio piece is a work in progress and that there are certain parts of my process that are not shown that include: more research items, an analysis of the current app user flow, and extensive wireframing.