FINAL DESIGN

Introduce Conversational UI Sammy

A friendly guide, reminder, and cheerleader who provides U-Haul customers with multiple options to chose from; personalized recommendations based on user feedback; timely reminders, equipment tutorials, and safety alerts for a safe and pleasant driving experience.

Design Concept

Final Design

Final Design

EXPEDIATE DECISION-MAKING

Flexible with options

Users can view and compare multiple service options, addressing edge cases and personal preferences.

EFFECTIVE TASK MANAGEMENT

Timely Reminders

Receive updates on order status, helper confirmations, and upcoming tasks ensure users are well-informed.

DRIVING SUPPORT

Keep user informed

Integration with Apple Maps for safety alerts and navigation, promoting a secure and stress-free driving experience.

RESEARCH

Understand uhaul and its customer

In two weeks, we conducted researches and these studies helped us understand U-Haul’s in-store processes, customer segments, and pain points, particularly focusing on DIY movers who are critical to U-Haul’s service model.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

With purpose to understand user behavior, we created artifacts including the tasks flow, we did App audit, task flow, persona, user journey map. User journey maps outlines the moving experience, identify key tasks and emotional states throughout the process. This helped pinpoint specific moments where a voice assistant could offer significant value.

One design can’t fit for all. We identified the design opportunities in three use cases, proposed design solutions can solve the three painpoints for UHaul users.

Wireframing

Utilizing the Wizard of Oz method, we simulated interactions between movers and Sammy to refine our design approach. This involved:

Scenario Planning: Imagining user interactions with Sammy during critical tasks like confirming orders and receiving guidance.

UI Pattern Selection: Choosing designs that effectively display options and information, using progressive disclosure to manage the complexity without overwhelming users.

ideation

There are some key decisions we've made for structuring Sammy with the user interface, page-to page transition and CTA buttons.  We made the design iterations taking feedbacks from some user testing we conducted with the low-fidelity prototype.

Transitional Interfaces
Designed to ease the user into interactions with Sammy without abrupt page changes, enhancing the fluidity of the user experience.

Enhancements to U-Haul’s homepage to feature Sammy prominently, ensuring easy access and a consistent visual identity across the app.

When redesigning the home page, we considered several key factors:
Placement of Sammy: Where should Sammy be positioned to remain visible and accessible?
Feature Highlighting: Which features should be prominently displayed on the home screen?
User Differentiation: How should the home page differ for users with and without upcoming orders?
Visual Alignment: How do we ensure consistency with current U-Haul branding?

Sammy is placed at the bottom of the page to ensure constant visibility and availability for users. The redesigned app accounts for two user paths: those with upcoming orders and those without. For users with upcoming reservations, the reservation will be prominently displayed as the main info card. We simplified the navigation bar and moved the search function to the top of the home page for easier access. The main services and products are highlighted with visual emphasis to distinguish them from other services lower on the page.

interface design

Our goal for the new branding system is to design within the constraints of the current U-Haul branding while bringing a fresh perspective. I assembled the main components of the interface and crafted a clickable prototype for product demos and user testing.

REFLECTION

Teamwork matters
Collaboration is crucial, especially in a design team. It fosters diverse perspectives, shared insights, and a collective effort towards achieving user-centric solutions. Our team accomplished projects by working closely together in pairs and being accountable for assigned tasks. We utilized design tools such as whiteboarding and conducted brainstorming sessions to generate collective solutions.

While other designers on the team focused on creating videos, we needed to work seamlessly to deliver UI prototypes for After Effects. This required careful handoff from Figma to AE, where I ensured that files were consistently named and easily understandable for smooth collaboration.

Consistency is the key
Consistency was key. While designing within the constraints of U-Haul’s existing branding system, I ensured that the new UI screens adhered to current branding guidelines. However, I introduced a fresh perspective by integrating elements like gradients while preserving the brand’s distinctive colors, such as green for notifications and alerts.
‍

If I have more time, I will spend time on considering more edge cases such as last-minute orders and do more user testings to evaluate if the current UI components can solve customers' questions effectively. The effectiveness of the prompts we provide to users.