NOVOCAR

March 2024

NOVOCAR is a conceptual electric vehicle leasing company that I have branded and featured as the client in this case study.

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The brief I set myself was to deliver a platform that encourages electric vehicle ownership while accommodating the daily needs of the average EV driver. A core issue to address - one I have experienced myself - was the sheer amount of apps a driver needs to install in order to manage their electric vehicle, which can be a source of hesitation for others to take the leap from combustion engines to electric vehicles.

Role

Designer

Researcher

Team

Individual

Duration

1 month

The problem

Switching from combustion engines to electric vehicles can be daunting for drivers.

With the rapid advancement of modern technology, consumers can very easily fall behind on transitioning to the next big breakthrough. One such area of development is the electric vehicle market, which will eventually override the combustion engines we are familiar with today.

It can be overwhelming to stay on top of leasing opportunities, the public charging network, electric vehicle specs and the latest industry news - and it also demands the driver to juggle this between multiple apps. But, what if you had access to all of your EV needs in one place?

The solution

A multi-functional assistant app to aid the daily running of an electric vehicle.

The pocket-sized assistant

  • Reduced stress of keeping on top of EV ownership, with all your daily tools in one place
    ‍
  • One app instead of four; combining the tools of a car manufacturer, charge map, news and leasing
    ‍
  • One payment method for all public charge points, saving the need to download dedicated apps
    ‍
  • Flexible subscription model with a monthly rolling contract, allowing the customer to swap out their EV any time to avoid feeling 'locked in'
Research

Drivers are calling for the standardisation of apps that support their EVs.

Diving into the experiences of existing EV drivers, the general consensus is that there are just too many different apps demanding a presence on their phones. Tesla and Polestar are leading the unified functionality of sourcing and charging at public charge points within their own apps, however this luxury does not extend to those driving other manufacturers' cars.

The Car Expert specifies at least 3 kinds of app required to run an EV; a manufacturer app, a charging provider app (one for each provider you use / encounter on a journey), and a charge point search app.

Meanwhile, on an electric vehicle thread in Reddit.com, a community of EV drivers share their frustrations of owning anything from 3 to 15 apps!

Just looking through my phone and realised the amount of apps (7) l have that are for my EV (Polestar 2)...

Polestar App, EA, Evgo, ABRP, PlugShare, Volta, Charge Point.
The solution

A multi-functional assistant app to aid the daily running of an electric vehicle.

The pocket-sized assistant

  • Reduced stress of keeping on top of EV ownership, with all your daily tools in one place
    ‍
  • One app instead of four; combining the tools of a car manufacturer, charge map, news and leasing
    ‍
  • One payment method for all public charge points, saving the need to download dedicated apps
    ‍
  • Flexible subscription model with a monthly rolling contract, allowing the customer to swap out their EV any time to avoid feeling 'locked in'
Research

Drivers are calling for the standardisation of apps that support their EVs.

Diving into the experiences of existing EV drivers, the general consensus is that there are just too many different apps demanding a presence on their phones. Tesla and Polestar are leading the unified functionality of sourcing and charging at public charge points within their own apps, however this luxury does not extend to those driving other manufacturers' cars.

The Car Expert specifies at least 3 kinds of app required to run an EV; a manufacturer app, a charging provider app (one for each provider you use / encounter on a journey), and a charge point search app.

Meanwhile, on an electric vehicle thread in Reddit.com, a community of EV drivers share their frustrations of owning anything from 3 to 15 apps!

Just looking through my phone and realised the amount of apps (7) l have that are for my EV (Polestar 2)...

Polestar App, EA, Evgo, ABRP, PlugShare, Volta, Charge Point.
Features

Three unique challenges.

Every project allows the opportunity to dive into new features and approaches. Backed by research into the best and latest practices, these are some key areas where I attempted something new or evolved my approach altogether.

One
Two
Three
Features

Three unique challenges.

Every project allows the opportunity to dive into new features and approaches. Backed by research into the best and latest practices, these are some key areas where I attempted something new or evolved my approach altogether.

No items found.
Introducing

NOVOCAR

Status monitoring

Instant access to everyday data

The home screen is the hub that allows the driver to assess important stats in an instant, making their habits seamless. The charging status, available range, contractual mileage, climate control, tyre pressure, and the ability to lock/unlock the car are the focus of this dashboard.

These are tools that would usually be available separately in the manufacturer app and a desktop-accessed customer portal for a vehicle lease.

iPhone frameAn iPhone screen depicting a key feature of the solution.
iPhone frameAn iPhone screen depicting a key feature of the solution.
Flexible leasing

Browse, compare and swap cars

Having the power to swap out their car as often as each month (with a delivery fee), drivers can take advantage of the latest offerings, and discover the latest specifications.

If a driver wants to lease a car from another manufacturer, they don't face the hassle of installing and learning a new app; everything continues as normal in the NOVOCAR app.

Take a peek

I'm proud of my Figma files; I keep my layers, components and styles super tidy for designers and developers to get stuck in.

View project

Get hands-on

Explore the interactive prototype and navigate all of the important functions and user journeys outlined in this case study.

Open prototype

Explore my FigJam flows

Check out the user flow charts that form the journeys outlined in this project.

Open FigJam

Lessons

Learned new tricks in filter menus

I had the opportunity to explore a wide array of filtering methods, and experiment with different approaches. This allowed me to hone in on the most effective application and it has without a doubt levelled up my knowledge on which input styles to employ, and why.

Levelled up my form experience

I wanted to improve my accessibility methods, and so deep-dived into forms for the sign-up stages. I learned and applied a lot of enhanced tactics, such as; no name format discrimination, always visible labels, captions for instruction and assurance, clearer validation handling and password strength support.

Reflections

The app is just one platform to launch a brand

As this was a personal project developed around my full-time work, time was limited to achieve everything I may have wanted. Despite being primarily a UX case study, I would have enjoyed adding further depth to the NOVOCAR brand via other mediums.

Real user data is valuable

Extending my research to enquire with real users would have been insightful, in order to discover if any niche features could have been introduced. This additional layer of context will certainly be helpful in the planning of future personal projects.

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