Work completed in 2023
Sema Connect App Design
Senior designer of app for users to find electric vehicle charging stations.
Work Completed in 2023
Project Summary and My Role
I was the product design lead for this app-redesign project for the EV Charging Company, SemaConnect (now Blink charging). Their app was outdated and not using modern app patterns, the design lacked hierarchy and needed the updated design to match the rebrand the Bluetext team had established.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.
Outdated Design Patterns
The Problem
Aside from the issues mentioned above, the SemaConnect product team was also suffering from poor app performance and reviews. There was a lack of clarity for what icons actually represent and the popup experience is outdated and leads to too many taps for user to have quick info at-a-glance.
Previous Home Screen Experience
Journey Maps and Competitor Analysis
I created journey maps accounting for how users would be using the app to find charging stations. I also spent time researching direct competitors and looked into other apps that had successful flows we wanted to replicate. Including Starbucks and the process of selecting a location to place and order and how the overlay sheet displays and behaves.
Click a thumbnail below to view larger.
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.
Seeing It Work
High Fidelity Prototype
I wanted to have a functional prototype as part of this project. In the video I am simulating a user expanding the charger list, tapping into one and initiating a charge.
What I Learned
This project was completed in 2023, we were not scoped with development and SemaConnect was acquired by one of their competitors during the redesign process. Therefore, the project never really shipped. However it does appear that the current app, Blink Charging, did adopt some of the design patterns recommended during the design process.
I learned a lot during this project and would be interested in working on more products of this kind.