How I Used 4 Hours - Design Challenge @ IBM

How I Use 4 Hours; Design Challenge @ IBM

iOS App

For this design challenge, I was asked to create a new feature for the Hertz app to help a customer find just the right car for their trip. Instead of going through the full UX process, I was asked to focus on the new feature's visual design. In a four-hour period, I created a high fidelity prototype that gives an effective solution for the persona while also respecting and expanding the Hertz brand through my skill in UI design.

My Role

Interaction Design
UI Design

Client

IBM Design

Timeline

4 Hours

Team

Isaiah Robinson(me)

The Challenge

With little context, I was asked to design a better way for a mid-career professional who occasionally travels for work to find just the right vehicle when using the Hertz mobile app.

Our Goals

I researched Hertz's visual identity and created preliminary mid-fidelity wireframes, added interactions and iconography, breaking my time into 4 one hour blocks. Finally, I developed a high fidelity prototype that I presented in an interview.

Hour 1 - Competitive Analysis + Branding

My research phase started with finding avid online shoppers and those familiar with shopping for groceries at Market Basket.Hertz recently went through a rebrand, so it was important for me to make sure that I am inline with their new brand standards.

I also looked into the Hertz app itself. I identified UI Elements that I felt I could repurpose to create my new experience.

I decided that I wanted to develop a form experience - I wanted the user to answer a series of questions that would help the Hertz app select the best car for their trip. At this point, I researched how other apps have created forms that replicate the experience I wanted to create.

Hour 2 - Wireframes

Going into the second hour, I designed wireframes with a specific user flow in mind.

The first screen shows how the user would input their pickup location and drop off location.

The next screens show the process of how the app curates their car. The user is greeted with a question and has the ability to select an answer below. There is also a progress bar at the top showing where the user is in the process of finding their perfect car. our challenges, our goals

I decided to ask the user 5 questions and finished my first wireframes needed to ask all questions.

Hour 3 - Interactions & Higher Fidelity

I started to bring my wireframes to a higher level of fidelity, adding interactions and preliminary Hertz branding. I wanted to give the user the needed feedback showcasing their progression towards getting curated cars for their trip.

I began this stage with creating buttons that change states when pressed. When the user selects an option, their choice changes from grey to yellow. The inner shadow simulates the "pressed down" action of selecting a button, while the outer shadow makes the selected option more prominent. our challenges, our goals

The yellow bar above each button serves as a progress bar. As the user progresses through this feature, the progress bar grows, giving feedback that displays that the customer is moving towards receiving their curated car list.

Finally, I designed the final loading screen, simulating that the app is curating the best matches for their upcoming trip.

Hour 4 - High Fidelity & Hertz Branding

In my last hour, I honed in on incorporating Hertz imagery and branding while also adding smaller features.

Using photoshop, I created a background image that is inline with Hertz's brand identity. I also added various micro-interactions (going back to a previous question, skipping a question, bypassing the entire experience, ect.) that give the user complete control.

Final Thoughts

This challenge was a good exercise to test my creative thinking and how I think about design within a time constraint. The concept I presented is a great start towards introducing a new feature that could help Hertz users find a car that best fits their needs.

If I had more time, I would like to test this prototype with users familiar with car rental services. I'd love to hear their thoughts on the rental process and see if there are areas that can be enhanced in my user flow to serve their needs better.

All in all, I was able to communicate my design decisions in a 60-minute presentation effectively, as my prototype received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the IBM team I interviewed with.