CONNEXION
PROJECT
SUMMARY
Lead the creation of a device hub app that would control multiple toys under our different brands. The app not only functions as a controller but also features messaging, calling, blog articles and more.
Title: Product Designer
Capacity: UI, UX, Branding
Year: 2021
RESPONSIBILITY
A&H Design Group
Challenge:
At first I was tasked to create another app for a new line of toys we were launching. Prior to this, each time we created a new brand of toys they would request an app to go along with it. We already had multiple apps in the market that only controlled toys in their respective brand.
Being a small team I realized that we did not have enough manpower to manage multiple apps and provide updates especially for our customer service department. We also only had a single app that had the ability to chat and call with a partner which was a feature that drove a lot of customers to choose that brand, especially during the Covid lockdowns where people could not see their partners.
Hence I proposed creating an app that would be able to control all our existing toys and future toys. The app should also let customers chat and control their partners' toys as long as they're using one of those toy brands we own.
Goals:
Controller that would work with all our existing toys and future toys
Chat and messaging functionality
The app is easy to understand and not intimidating to first time users
Offer functions so existing user migrate to this platform over our old ones
The Research
I worked with the CS team to gain more insight on who our users were and what pain points they faced. We gathered the data through running email surveys and questionnaires as well as feedback from customer reviews. This helped me create personas and a journey map to paint a clearer picture on how we could create a product that was best suited for their needs.
data such a feedback, online surveys and customer complaints
Users want to be able to have a seamless experience when It comes to intimacy with their partners, they do not have a lot of patience learning complicated controls or having to go through a fussy process of adding each other.
Its important for new uses feel safe and make intimate devices feel accessible to them
some users want a more discreet interface and intuitive controls when doing public play with partner.
Customer insights
Personas based on user data collected from talking CS and marketing team
High fidelity UI, Wireframes & prototype flow
Since Connexion was to be a hub app that controlled multiple devices from different brands, the branding and design had to be neutral enough to accommodate multiple styles yet still be able to stand on its own. The complex nature of the app also necessitated dozens of screens covering user on-boarding, device setup, messaging, calls and device control features like music controls.
Design systems and style guide
Dashboard
We created a dashboard that gave users information about their device such as device name, battery status and their paired devices. We also give quick access to jump right into the different control mode like sound control land music control.
Controls
After taking into consideration the user's age group, experience with tech and rounds prototype iterations. We settled for a design that we felt gave a good margin of error for input, felt responsive and gave clear information on what the user was doing, as well as had overall good feedback from our test groups. So we settled on a slider control for more accuracy and well as designed a mode where users can switch between a controller layout designed to be used with one hand or two giving them more flexibility. We also added a function called loop mode where your inputs would be recorded for a period of time and looped back to you allowing for a hands-free experience.
Smoother sign in process
Our other apps only offered email sign in method which users found to be cumbersome and easy to have errors with, so we added social sign in with Google and Apple which made it a lot quicker and more seamless. We also improved our error states the give users better feedback if they had made mistakes during the process and why.
Controls
A key feature why users buy our products is the ability to control their partners device no matter how far apart they are as long as they have Wifi or Data connection. In the pervious app there wasn't a clear indicator if their partner was connected to a device for them to control, this cause a lot of users to complain that the app had a bug. We improved this by adding a sticky on the top of the chat to let users know if their partner was connected to a device and was ready to be remotely controlled. We also improved on the messenger UI and added more functions.
Results
Eliminated the need to create multiple apps for controlling different devices
Decrease in Sign-up and Log in errors by 70%
Increase of App MAUs and retention rate
Positive user feedback on new control modes and social functionality
Let’s talk?
Got a partnership idea, or a project you need help with? Shoot me a line and let's talk.
