The future of EV is local

Understanding char.gy's core user base

The company had undergone rapid growth since forming in 2016 and with no permanent design support, I was responsible for implementing user-centered outcomes across hardware, web and mobile platforms.

My primary task was to liaise with customer services to better understand the range of issues they dealt with on a weekly basis and how we could use design to reduce the friction of certain issues. 

The company had no feedback loop in place outside of customer support channels, so I designed an incentivised quantitative study which was sent to all existing customers. The final phase of the study was a call for qualitative research participants who currently had the use of an electric vehicle and had used char.gy's service within the past twelve months.

It was through this research that we uncovered multiple challenges and opportunities that we were able to address moving forward. 

The greatest request from participants was for the creation of a native mobile app rather than relying on either the existing web app or third party charging services such as ZapMap. 

Building the UI

Working with the lead product manager, we built a clickable prototype which I used to conduct research with a cross section of char.gy users. This research uncovered multiple failings in our assumptions both about navigation but also with regards to the base-level functionality that users expected. 

Armed with this feedback, I was able to iteratively revise the prototype throughout the sessions and land on a stable specification prior to the commencement of development. 

From this point, my role was to build a mobile design system in Figma and liaise daily with developers to ensure all upcoming stories had corresponding UI design, requirements and microcopy.

The outcome

The launch of char.gy's native iOS app was a milestone in the company's evolution. Feedback from stakeholders and their customers was positive and appreciative of the hard work done in such a compressed amount of time.