“As the leading global interconnection and data center company, Equinix is dedicated to powering, protecting and connecting the organizations and ecosystems that will shape this new era, and doing so in a sustainable and responsible way.”
- Charles Meyers, CEO Equinix, Inc.
Organise and promote initiatives that are beneficial to the planet
The team was composed of 1 UX Designer (me), 3 full-stacked engineers, 1 PM and 1 Software Architect.
I was in charge of UX research (competitive analysis, user flow), storyboard, low-fidelity wireframing, logo and app banner design, high-fidelity prototype, design system, and presentation.
One of the biggest challenge (and satisfaction when the project is delivered) as a UX designer is to find clarity when the business brief is vague. I was excited to take on this project as I am interested in all things sustainability. However, during the initial stage of the design phase, there was very little understanding of what the project entails.
What does sustainability mean to them? Who is the target audience? What problem does it solve? What exactly are we building? How do we define success? I had so many questions that our business stakeholders could not answer yet.
To help our stakeholders find clarity, I drew out a user flow diagram to get them to see how many screens are expected and whether there was any processes that are missing in the diagram. The advantage of a user flow diagram is numerous. Most important of all, it keeps track of which process or screens have been approved for design and what is on hold.
As I build the wireframe of the homepage, I realise that all sections of the app would be static (ie. no change in information) except for the events section. I raised it to our stakeholders and proposed that we make the events section on the top of the homepage, having it behave as dynamic content that also advertises for the use of the app. It encourages users to check in on the app to register for new events and clock their daily steps at the same time.
The user is currently on the “Earn” tab which contains all the ways they can earn credit in the app. The “Redeem” tab is still under discussion at the time of writing.
In the event module, only crucial information will be shown on each event card, eg, Name of event, Date/Time and how many credits earned by participating. Users can also favourite the event.
The second section informs the conversion rate of each receipt and users will find a list of selected merchants by clicking on “Scan receipt.”
The third section lets the user sync their health data with the app so it can calculate how much credit to award.
Each event description page contains a photo and information that can be uploaded on an admin portal. Event organisers can also set the maximum number of participants that can take part in this event.
The About section is a place for relevant information that is not contained within the top section on the event such as what to expect during the event, place to meet, what to wear etc.
Registering for the event requires user to key in their mobile number which is used for verification.
Once they’ve registered for the event, the CTA changes to “Remove name from Event” in case they change their mind about attending.
The event card from the homepage also changes into an alert pill to remind users of when it is happening, eg “in 8 days” or “Today” etc.
One of the key features of the app is to monitor daily steps in view that the more you walk, the less carbon emission you create.
The app would need to request for access to the health data on the phone. Thereafter, the module will transform into a health data tracker bar that pulls the steps data every time the user syncs the app.
A cap of 15 points can be earned each day which congratulates the user when the maximum is reached.
I especially created content to be delightful so the users don’t feel like they are being coerced into using a company app.
A lesson that I learned here is to challenge the status quo. What the business wants should be aligned with what the users need. Defining the right problem to solve is crucial for the success of any idea. I was advised to create design using existing mobile components from our customer portal but the UI did not tell the right story for this app. Hence, I proposed to create a new set of components using existing design library. It proved to be the right call in the end.
Most great ideas are born vague. One of our many responsibilities as designers is to create scope out of a vague idea. Instead of going straight into solutioneering (solution + engineering), I like to define the problem and think harder on whether it is the right problem to solve. In the end, as the design began to shape up, the business group became more confident in their messaging and launched the MVP well within the time frame.
