Overview
Within a 2 week sprint, the challenge was to help Sunvessel rethink and deploy a new approach to reach investors. The start up has the ambitious goal of improving mobilization in Miami by becoming a standard amenity in hotels, offices & residential buildings. I was not given a specific objective but through the UX process was able to discover my own. By the end of the project, I redesigned their website, changed its main call to action and developed a new on-boarding process called a “digital sales pitch”.
Design Tools
Sketch
Invision
Adobe Photoshop
Roles
UX Research
UI Design
Secondary Research
Luxury residential buildings are in a gold rush to get money from millennials. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), one the leaders in the apartment industry say that high tech, sustainable amenities are in high demand. At the same time, more than 70% of renters are choosing to forgo extra storage for greener features in their apartments. There is demand for amenities like sunvessel.
User Research
I spoke to the amenity manager of The Ritz Carlton, The Manager of Mandarin Oriental and the CEO of ZOM Living. Later, I interviewed two individuals familiar with Sunvessel and spoke about their experiences riding it. Additionally, a survey was posted online to learn from users acquainted with the Segway model used by Sunvessel. The 54 survey responses and the 5 interviews that were conducted shaped my decisions for this project.
Interview Insight
Hotels and residential buildings have distinctive business models. While hotels measure profit by customer volume, residential buildings do so through square footage value. Allocating funds for amenities isn’t an issue for hotels, unlike residential buildings in which amenities are not the top budgetary priority. If Sunvessel wants to become an amenity for either, it needs to have tailored prices.
Survey Insight
Sunvessel is seen as a tool for millennials but the majority of adults using the same Segway model were 46 years of age or older. Based on this data, Sunvessel’s target demographic is incongruous with the market.
Top Gains
• Amenities are of great importance, especially innovative product.
• Eco-friendly products compliment the target’s brand.
• High-tech amenities add value to their business and helps attract new customers.
Top Pains
• Current sales package doesn’t work for residential buildings.
• Liability is the biggest pain point for hotels, offices and residential buildings.
• No one is willing to invest without trying out sunvessel first.
“If we give you a space that allows Sunvessel to set their system up without me getting charged, and then (sunvessel) shares a small stream of revenue, giving my property an amenity,
that would work.”
User Persona
To better understand the mental models of our target users, I created Real Estate Ronald. Synthesizing the data collected, Ronald represents a real estate developer seeking new amenities for his latest building.
Competitor Analysis
Research showed that competitor websites provide valuable information for both business and individuals while Sunvessel doesn’t. For example, Sunvessel wants to be known as an eco-friendly product but doesn’t mention sustainability anywhere on its site. Likewise, it is missing a mission statement or an introduction to the company.
I had collected a lot of information by now and so I decided put all “known” information together one again.
We created a Venn Diagram to focus on the sweet spot where business, technology and user experience converged.
We came up with a few potential MVP’s and inserted them in a Moscow Graph.
Doing How Might We’s with Sunvessel’s CEO was very productive. We came up with a 2 tier business approach: Changing the call to action and then sending a digital sales pitch.
Ideation
A variety of brainstorming sessions were carried out; revolving around the user’s pains and gains. I arrived to my MVP by doing “How might we’s” with Sunvessel’s CEO and organizing each idea with the Moscow method. We deemed it necessary to include integral information that was lacking on Sunvessel’s website. Visitors were leaving with more questions than answers. We needed to redesign and expand the site so it could include tailored sales packages, information about their insurance policy, the business on-boarding process and information about sustainability.
Key Learning
The website couldn’t include every detail about Sunvessel’s insurance policy because the company risked being taken advantage of. The CEO feared that trolls would sue his company and bankrupt it. We agreed to put more focus on copywriting by mentioning a Worry Free Package without revealing too much information about their coverage. Likewise, we came up with a Digital Sales Package that would be shown only to companies ready to sign a non-binding letter of intent. This extra step filtered serious business from those with nefarious intent.
Lo-Fi Prototype
My lo-fi prototype was tested by 5 different users and several issues were brought to my attention. Testers complained that there were too many clicks involved in the process and wording was confusing; particularly in the top navigation bar. The test results showed a direct correlation between what testers were reporting and the amount of miss clicks seen in the heat map.
This Lo-fi image shows the intended User flow. The tester needed to find information about insurance and then check the prices being offered for residential buildings. Most testers thought this prototype had too many clicks and it didn’t have a smooth flow.
There was a 60% miss click among 3/5 testers. Most of the problems resulted from poor word choice in the top navigation bar.
The top navigation bar had 3 confusing tabs: About, How it Works, Our mission. These heat maps made it clear where the problem was and why the problem existed.
Too many clicks was a common problem encountered by all testers. This told me information had to be provided without having to jump pages.
Mid-Fi Prototype
My mid-fi prototype addressed the problems previously encountered on my lo-fi. The navigation bar was simplified and the 3 tabs labelled that were titled alike were removed. I listed three major changes below:
• How it works no longer explained how to ride a sunvessel but rather explained the business on-boarding process in 3 easy steps.
• Tutorial was added to explain to new users how to ride a sunvessel. The page includes an image explanation and a video tutorial.
• Homepage now scrolls down to avoid unnecessary clicks and improve website flow; revealing important information along the way. There is a short demo request form at the top and bottom of the page.
• Prices has different sales packages that are revealed depending on the type of business one clicks.
Homepage - Sunvessel Promise - Adding Value - Video
Pricing options - Residential Pricing - Tutorial - On-boarding Process
Hi-Fi Prototype
Tweaks were made in the hi-fi prototype to take it to the next level. Page layouts and copywriting are amongst the differences between my mid-fi prototype and the Hi-fi. Surprisingly, I forgot to add a submit button in my demo form and so that was added as well.
Homepage
Homepage
“Invest” is no longer the main call to action. It has been replaced by “request a demo”. The violent red color has been toned down and replaced by a more modern and less vibrant red.
How it Works
A step by step on-boarding process has been added. Users will no longer be uncertain about Sunvessel’s installation process.
How it Works
Tutorial
Tutorial
This page includes both a diagram and a video explaining that explains to new users how to ride a sunvessel. The video will have footage of the product in motion which was previously missing.
Pricing
Tailored prices have been broken down for hotels, residential buildings, and offices. Data could be collected to see which type of business has been visiting the site.
Pricing