- Project Type
- Timeline
- Role
- Mobile Application
- Eight Weeks
- UX Designer & Researcher
The Problem
Transitioning to electric-vehicles (EVs) from gas-powered vehicles (GVs) is no easy task. In particular, we found three pain points individuals had when transitioning to EVs:
Charging Availability + Time
Financial Accessibility
Individual Preferences and Needs
The solution
EVolve: an all-in-one EV tool that helps prospective buyers with difficult decisions as well as connecting current owners in order to create an EV community, all with the goal to smoothen the transition to EVs.
THE PROCESS
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
We began by looking at academic articles, official government documents, and online communities to better understand the current challenges, discourse, and public opinion regarding electric vehicles.
We began by looking at academic articles, official government documents, and online communities to better understand the current challenges, discourse, and public opinion regarding electric vehicles.
Brainstorming on Figma
We took our findings and further narrowed down our scope to ask ourselves...
How might we help prospective EV buyers become more informed on technical and financial aspects of owning an EV in order to facilitate their transition from gas-powered to electric vehicles?
USER RESEARCH
Personas
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Based on our online research and community observations, May represents our primary user base: the Middle Class Prospective Buyer, age 30-45. Statistically, they are new families and have a commutable job, and thus are looking for a reliable family vehicle. However, they may be wary of the high price tag associated with EVs and be more comfortable operating gas vehicles.
Jay represents our secondary user base: the Upper Class Prospective Buyer, age 20-35. Their higher salary affords them more financial freedom to choose an EV, and the new technology may be more appealing to a younger generation. However, they may not view them as a first choice due to inconvenient charging times in a fast-paced, travel-heavy lifestyle.
This demographic is also the most statistically likely to be Current EV Owners, another essential element of our secondary user base, with many being new buyers who might benefit from a community of individuals with similar vehicle experience. Current owners may also be beneficial to prospective buyers, as they could provide vehicle-specific help to their peers on EVolve.
Storyboarding
After identifying stakeholders, we created storyboards that illustrated scenarios that our users might face. We structured our storyboards by establishing the context, the problem, our solution, and the resolution.
May is worried about the higher initial cost of EVs, so the financial plan feature helps May learn more about the costs and savings associated with EVs.
Jay is unfamiliar and overwhelmed by the variety of EV options, so the Car Match feature can help him find the perfect EV based on his lifestyle and budget preferences and minimizes research time.
May is curious to find more information about EVs, so the Community feature connects with other prospective buyers and current EV owners to help answer questions and make suggestions.
The Community Challenge feature encourages users to get involved through environment-based games and spread awareness about the benefits of sustainable transportation.
Showing these storyboards using speed-dating during our user interviews allowed us to gain helpful insights as to how realistic and applicable these situations and solutions were to daily life.
User Interview Insights
After conducting 7 user interviews (3 primary, 4 secondary), we analyzed and coded the interview results and discovered 3 key insights:
Environmental impact is not a significant factor in EV consideration
Primary users are more likely to dismiss EVs because of high cost
Secondary users are more likely to be less informed about EVs and could benefit from guidance
These findings significantly changed the trajectory of the app, as we discovered that even though we were tackling an environmental issue, approaching the user from an environmentalist standpoint was not the most effective way.
Instead, we leaned into the “economical over ecological” mindset of the Prospective Buyer in order to maximize efficiency for secondary users and increase financial transparency for primary users.
Furthermore, we saw an expanded role and possibility of interaction for current EV owners, as those that we interviewed expressed the learning curve of operating an EV and that they often found themselves helping others at charging stations.
Thus, our solution evolved into...
EVolve, the one-stop-shop for sustainable transportation preparation
Our goal is to help the user create a curated financial plan, get matched with a car based on their lifestyle, and connect with a community of other prospective and current EV owners so that they can be more prepared and open to transitioning to an EV.
PROTOTYPING
Wireframes
Having our goals aligned, we began creating wireframes to map out possible user flows, features, and interactions.View our interactive Figma wireframe
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LoFi Prototype
Our wireframes gave us a clearer picture of the direction we wanted EVolve to take, and we decided that it should convey a welcoming and friendly, yet clean practical interface.We moved onto further developing the features and interactions with more complexity, and were also able to integrate color and theming to create a more polished, cohesive look.View our interactive Figma LoFi Protoype
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User Testing
We solicited other students and returned to our interviewees from the User Research stage to conduct short-task interviews in order to test our prototype. Many testers were able to complete the tasks with ease and remarked on the straightforward layout and interactions, but we stumbled on a few common errors caused by:
Unclear Icons and signifiers
Low Readability
Lack of Clear hierarchy
Final product
View our interactive HiFi Prototype on Figma for Prospective EV Buyers and Current EV Owners
Style guide
All users
Onboarding Survey
- Input your preferred vehicle size, style, and price to determine suggestions for Car Match and Financial Plan features.
- Input the information of your current EV to show on your profile and find other drivers with similar vehicles
All users
EV Community
- Ask and search for EV related questions from other owners and prospective buyers
- Socialize through discussion and support others by replying to/interacting with posts
Prospective Buyer
View Nearby EVs
- Find EVs charging nearby and compare the cost of charging vs the cost of gas while fueling
- Check the financial info of the specific make and model of nearby EVs
- Chat with the owner of the EV to ask about their experience or get advice
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Prospective Buyer
Car Match
- Quickly pair with potential EV’s that fit your budget, lifestyle, and needs
- Review key details about each car without needing to browse
Prospective Buyer
Budget Builder
- Record your monthly expenses to visualize your budget and spending habits
- Find personalized financial plans and payment estimates for cars that fit your desired budget and lifestyle
Current Owner
Give/Get Help
- Connect with other EV drivers while charging
- Ask for help (e.g. charging questions, car trouble)
- Respond to help requests
