Anywhere Bag Check In
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Travelling with checked luggage is so dreadful for air travellers, most will avoid it whenever they can. Further, for airports and airlines checked luggage creates costs, logistic nightmares, is a source of customer dissatisfaction, and poses security risks. AirPortr's Anywhere Bag Check In (ABC) is an app enabled service which allows passengers bags to be checked-in from their doorsteps. They can travel to and through the airport without baggage, and simply collect at the final destination. It is live with British Airways and American Airlines in London right now (with more in the pipeline), and is compliant with all relevant regulations. Quite simply, checking in your bags from home just feels great. Once you try it you won't settle for anything else. Executing this required a complex combination of service and user experience design, in which government, airport and airline stakeholders all had to be involved. We designed and implemented bespoke mobile apps for drivers to be able to execute the same functions as airline check in agents, unique physical sealing mechanisms for bags to travel safely, web apps to keep the passenger informed and in control, and processes and technology to ensure all security and regulation compliance. From a passenger perspective, the service eliminates some of the most stressful parts of the journey and saves up to two hours of the total journey. It's also very inclusive: elderly couples, large families and passengers with disabilities are avid users, since AirPortr allows for a more dignified travel experience. A service NPS score consistently above 75 and our loyal customer base are testaments to this. Additionally, by bringing the check in desk to the passenger's home we have created a brand new customer touchpoint and experience, probably the most personal in the entire passenger journey. This presents new experience design opportunities for airports and airlines that we are only just starting to explore. But the benefits extend to well beyond passengers using the service. We’re helping airports and airlines manage their capacity, expand without building more infrastructure and encourage public transport utilisation. Some of the world's largest airports are close to capacity and severely constrained in terms of expansion. Many smart city initiatives have started to push for off-airport processing, so that there is less concentration and congestion at the airports. Anywhere Bag Check In alone can reclaim up to 8% of landside terminal space at peak times, meaning the service benefits extend beyond those who use the service. AirPortr bags avoid any public areas and are considered safer than self-checked bags by airports, airlines and regulators. We believe this collaborative design process with stakeholders, the seamless user experience the service provides to travellers, and the benefits it generates for cities, airlines and airports make Anywhere Bag Check In worthy of a Design award.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
We've identified 3 distinct innovations that make us unique: 1 - Fully mobile, plug and play "bag drop" solution: vetted drivers equipped with the AirPortr app can deliver a world class experience with minimal training while complying with all regulations and airline rules. The app allows drivers to scan the passenger boarding pass and ID, perform automatic validity checks, uniquely identifying and securing each of the bags. The passenger can perform all government required declarations and pay for additional bags. All needed is a smartphone and the bag sealing devices. It's a first in the airline world. New airlines can be deployed in 30 days or less. 2 - A new personal touchpoint for passengers: bringing the check in desk to the passengers home creates a new personal experience between customers and their airline. Passengers using AirPortr rave about driver sympathy and service levels, resulting in improved NPS scores for the airline and airport. Airlines can serve customised messages to the customer, and in the future even serve airline upgrades for purchase, all in the comfort of the home. 3 - Off-Airport "Baggage as a Service": The model puts the traditional approach from airlines, airports and cities on its head: instead of simply paying for more infrastructure, they can now outsource some of that processing. This is particularly important for peak travel periods, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. This saves millions from building extra capacity that only gets utilised a few days a year. But what really excites us are the potential implications as the usage becomes more widespread. For example, if 10% of passengers with checked bags use off-site processing it's the equivalent of gaining 8% more terminal space. In London Heathrow alone this would mean capacity for 4 million more passengers a year. And with 40% of AirPortr passenger switching to public transport, the same airport would save 18 thousand tonnes of CO2 a year, and even reduce congestion in the road access to the airport by up to 2%. AirPortr Anywhere Bag Check In enables completely unique ways of thinking about the congestion challenges in modern cities, of which the airport and air travel is a central component. And the solution is capable of delivering results right now, which is why we are excited to share our learnings with cities and regulators around the world. Thus AirPortr Anywhere Bag Check In is truly a world first in how it allows bags to be safely checked in bags from virtually anywhere, be 'plug and play' for airlines, and deliver widespread benefits to passengers and cities all while remaining easy to scale via smart use of technology.
Who worked on the project?
Randel Darby - Founder and CEO AirPortr JD Piquard - Lead Designer and Product Manager Darren Payne - Co-Founder AirPortr Haroon Latif - VP Development Ryan Salton - Mobile App and UX Paul Mewett - VP Business Development And the incredible AirPortr team
View the project video:
Aqua Aston: Hotels For All
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Our work for Aqua Aston is much more than a redesign, it is a complete “rethinking” of how a hospitality brand can connect with and convert consumers, directly. In a world disrupted by brands like Airbnb and TripAdvisor, our key insight was that consumers needed to be engaged earlier in the process with original, inspiring travel planning content and guidance. We transformed Aqua Aston’s site from a place to simply “book a room” to a destination where you can customize the best travel experiences for your individual preferences and needs. By connecting with consumers early, Aqua can clearly message the benefits of direct booking and encourage sign-ups for the loyalty program. Aqua Aston’s new experience provides information including a clear lowest price guarantee that Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Booking.com are known for, but unlike OTAs, Aqua Aston’s experience provides value
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Inspiration and guidance in a mobile first, responsive design set the new Aqua Aston digital experience apart from its competitors in a unique way for the hotel and hospitality industry. To deliver on the promise of having an “authentic, local perspective,” we collaborated with local residents and experts to develop extensive, proprietary content about each area’s destinations, activities, itineraries and local personalities. This content, combined with an experience that weaves travelers seamlessly between inspiration and booking, serves to inspire and inform so consumers learn, plan, and instantly book the best vacation possible in one easy sitting. The new design minimizes the chances of losing customers in between the initial research and final booking stages. Additionally, the experience offers several paths to property selection and booking, most notably, the “create your experience” feature provides recommendations based on what type of setting each consumer wants. Every piece of engaging and inspiring content fluidly scales to every screen thanks to a mobile first, responsive design.
Who worked on the project?
Fluid: Michael Janiak - SVP, Design Bridget Fahrland - SVP, Strategy Erica Strandberg - Art Director Brad Mu - Senior UX Designer Jenny Ta - UX & Motion Designer Melissa Piccardo - Senior Designer Aaron Pitre - Copywriter Samiat Salami - Copywriter Sarah Buehler - Visual Designer Rachel Gill - Engagement Director Ping Liao - Senior Project Manager Amanda Clements - Account Director Andrew Sirotnik, CXO Avantia: Travis Warholic - Delivery Manager Patricia Ross - Project Manager, Technology Strategist Jody Chmielewski - Quality Analyst Lead Alexandra Kyrkos - Sr. Quality Analyst Ernest Petrilli - Quality Analyst Nathan Babb - Solution Architect Greg Airel - Sr. Software Engineer William Lutz - Sr. Software Engineer Larry Jennings - Sr. Software Engineer Brice Wallace - Software Engineer Dan Shaffer - Software Engineer Jesse Ewanko - Sr. Front End Developer Kyle Magilavy - Sr. Front End Developer Amanda Sbeghen - Front End Developer Aqua Aston: James Karabelas - Senior Director, Digital Marketing Martin Beach - Interactive Designer Alex Sian - Senior Manager, Marketing Technology Heather Nivelle - Director of eCommerce
Arthur
Company Pentagram
Introduction Date January 1, 2017
Project Website
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Arthur is an intelligent assistant designed to visualize a buildings energy usage and allow users to learn and interact with the information through voice commands. Created initially for the restored MacArthur Elementary school in Binghamton, New York – Arthur is the first system of it’s kind, combining the likes of energy monitoring products like Nest or the LEED dynamic plaque with a friendly and animated building persona that users can interact with through speech. There are currently no systems on the market that allow an institution like MacArthur to both monitor and understand how the school and building is sustainable in this unique way. In 2011 MacArthur Elementary School in Binghamton, NY suffered a devastating flood. Due to days of torrential rain caused by Hurricane Irene, the nearby Susquehanna River broke its banks and the existing school building was destroyed. A new contemporary school outfitted with state of the art technology and incorporating a sustainable and resilient design, was built by Ashley McGraw Architects, opening its doors in 2015. Pentagram was contacted to envision and design an interactive display system throughout the revitalized school with a focus on emphasizing sustainability and energy saving. Consisting of 8 units installed throughout the school, Arthur uses Google’s powerful open source voice recognition API to allow users to directly interact with the Arthur persona and learn about how their school is doing. Voice commands were chosen as the primary input mechanism over touch or analog controls due to the younger nature of the audience. In initial explorations around the concept it was observed how the emergence of voice assistants allow younger children to perform complex actions they might find challenging on a touch interface. Arthur constantly monitors and analyses the buildings usage of electricity, water, heating and cooling along with solar generation and flood risk tracking over time. Through interacting with Arthur, students and staff can learn about, monitor and improve the school’s energy usage. Information is given in many forms such as energy reports – daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns of how MacArthur’s energy usage has increased or decreased. Students can also compare previous energy levels with today’s through use of a comparison system (e.g. compare today to last week). All these interactions are completed through speech and answering simple yes or no questions posed by the Arthur persona. While Arthurs primary purpose is to provide information about MacArthur’s energy data he can also predict the weather, give the date and time, present a math or spelling quiz and answer basic questions about himself. When Arthur is not in use, he cycles through a number of passive information screens, including weather, date, time, energy stats, the level of the nearby Susquehanna River and messages from the school, sent through a custom built app.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Early in the design process it was decided that the interface should have a persona and personality of its own, to appeal to its younger audience and serve as a literal friendly face to the concept of energy saving. Inspired by digital pets like Tamagotchi, Arthur’s mood changes and adapts regularly depending on two key factors: how much energy the school is currently using and how often the units are interacted with. If the schools energy usage spikes Arthur may get fed up or upset. If Arthur isn’t talked to in a while his mood may get sad and morose. Linking Arthurs mood to the schools energy gives students an instantaneous reference for how the school is performing and encouragement to “cheer up” Arthur through conserving energy and interacting with him. After enquiring about how Arthur is feeling, Arthur will give students actionable advice on how to conserve energy. For example if electricity usage is particularly high in a given month, Arthur will recommend unplugging devices once they’re charged or turning off all the lights in a room when you leave. Arthurs mood is expressed both through a 9 color system and his animated face which moves and reacts independently. A series of animated icons above Arthur’s head playfully display which of his various modes he is currently in. Below Arthur’s face, his body is used to display a variety of information from text while he speaks to simple graphic representations of the schools energy or the nearby river level. In total, Arthur’s face, animated icon system and display information consist of over 100 unique custom animations. The displays use a customized version of the Futura typeface – selected for the simple geometry of it’s forms. The typeface was customized to incorporate elements from K5 worksheets used to teach the alphabet in an effort to make the forms friendlier and more recognizable to students. Arthur’s physical form was developed to be both impactful and easily accessible, consisting of a large sheet of durable low reflective glass, secured within a polished metal frame. The units were mounted only a few feet off the ground to accommodate the average height of Arthur’s younger users. The reflective qualities of the frame also mean that Arthur sits cleanly into any environment he is placed, reflecting the qualities of the walls around him. Subtle detailing was also included in the frame’s ventilation – consisting of a patterned system of punched holes along the unit’s side that spell the name “MacArthur” in binary code.
Who worked on the project?
Design: Eddie Opara, Brankica Harvey, Pedro Mendes, Jack Collins; Industrial Design & Fabrication: Robert Langhorn; Development: Lertad Supadhiloke
View the project video: https://we.tl/tAGK2b95Ma
Asana Mindful Design
Why is this project worthy of an award?
In a world of constant technological distraction and unintended consequences -- from fake news to tech addiction to lost business productivity, Asana co-founder and early Facebook and Google product leader Justin Rosenstein has recently implored that fellow technologists recognize their “core responsibility to mindfully design tools to be of benefit to people’s lives.” More than just another lofty platitude, Justin’s call to action directly motivates the entire Asana product organization to continue improving the teamwork experience in business, giving customers an elegant way to focus on their work, and essentially accomplish more with less effort. As a product-led company since inception, Asana continues to bring its design and user experience back to that singular value: mindfulness. According to Asana Product Designer Adam Butler, the design team itself is empowered to play a significant role in the company. “Designers here have a lot of influence over the product.” Adding to that sentiment, Product Designer Greg Lilley shares, “We care not only about our mission and the work that we’re doing, but also about one another as designers—and about the entire company.” This team-oriented mindset ensures every iteration of product design is optimized to map back to the core of Asana’s vision (give teams clarity of purpose, plan, and responsibility in their work) and mission (to help humanity thrive by enabling all teams to work together effortlessly). As such, Asana over the past two years has released a steady cadence of product features mindfully designed specifically to help their now more than 35,000 paying organizations and millions of users work with clarity and intention. -With Custom Fields (September 2016), Asana essentially became a customized work management app for any industry or function. Custom Fields lets teams add additional data to tasks in Asana projects to provide clarity on anything and everything. -Boards (November 2016) brought the power of Asana’s data model (a “graph of all work on a team”) into a new visualization within the app -- the beloved Kanban board. With Boards, customers could easily organize and visualize their Asana work in a new and helpful way. -Asana’s color-blind mode (January 2017) color-maps Asana’s existing palette – like those in projects, tags, and overdue tasks – to one that is color-blind accessible. Its voice-powered features (September 2018) not only allowed blind customers to get work into Asana more easily, but made existing visual elements more accessible with “accessibility hints.” -Custom Templates (June 2017) give customers the power to create their own best practices for any process they may have -- and run it seamlessly any time without having to reinvent the wheel. The just-released Timeline (March 2018) is Asana’s first of three major developments planned to finally connect the work being done at every level of a company -- from the individual and team to the departmental to the C-Suite -- and finally democratize the whole puzzle. With Asana, everyone can be an effective project manager, not just a few elite IT staff with Gantt charts. Timeline is a beautiful, living view of how all the pieces of a given project fit together, with Asana’s answer to project portfolio management and enterprise resource planning coming next.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The success of Asana’s mindful product design stems from the simple idea of building software users love (https://www.fastcodesign.com/1672511/4-ways-to-build-business-software-users-actually-love). This intentionality of its exceptional design team infuses in every step of the creative process. For example, while building Custom Fields, the design team addressed the constant challenge to consider all of the places where things are affected by the feature across the entire product to make everything feel as integrated as possible. Additionally, Yang Zhang, one of Asana’s mobile engineers who is color-blind, set off to make Asana color-blind friendly by mapping the existing color palette to create something that is usable for all while also staying true to Asana’s look and feel. This consideration comes from a structure unique to Asana in which the design team is not siloed, but integral in decision-making across the company. For example, Product Designer Paul Velleux works closely with engineers and product managers, and notes “engineers will often come to me with edge cases and we’ll talk through solutions together. With PMs, we bring a balance of visual sensibility and strategic thinking. We all complement each other really well.”
Who worked on the project?
Product Design Team
View the project video:
Asset Life module of the DigitalClone platform
Why is this project worthy of an award?
DigitalClone is a digital platform that allows wind turbine operators to connect with suppliers and service providers.. The technology fuses tribology and material science with data science to accurately predict when, and how, a wind turbine will break. The Asset Life module of DigitalClone provides predictions on all bearings and gears that are within an individual wind turbine. For these predictions to be accurate, we collect information on how the individual components were made and how they are being used in the field. The end result is a valuable tool that allows all user personas to optimize their work flow, decision making and reduce company costs. To reach the software’s full potential, we needed to build user trust in the system. The goal was to repurpose functionality from our old SaaS (Software as a Service) product into different modules that would be specifically focused to the different user personas. The design team had to engage the current user base to collect and observe how they interacted with the previous version of DigitalClone. Though this process, the team gained detailed knowledge about our users, including their goals in utilizing the system, and the functionality and information that was of true value to each user persona. From this process we developed the Asset Life module to target our Asset Manager user persona. Our first challenge was to simplify the interface. The first step to solving this problem was clearly identifying the user persona, in this case an Asset Manager. This information informed our decision to display a worst to best list of all wind turbines on the initial page load. From there we defined additional user permissions that allowed the data to be customized per the user’s work responsibilities. For example, an Asset Manager will only be responsible for a specific wind farm or a specific wind turbine technology. When we tested our prototypes of the updated concepts to our user base, we were pleased to see the user navigate with ease, and we scored an 80.5% on the System Usability Scale (SUS). An additional barrier was the lack of trust users had with the predictions. After the user was confronted with the predictions, they would then go consult other resources to validate. To solve this, the design team introduced an additional layer of transparency into the user interface. We did this by clearly communicating the state of the predictive model and what data is needed to make the predictions more accurate. We also displayed data that had been previously collected that an end user would see as a validation resource, like maintenance history. These steps keep the user within the DigitalClone interface, while providing them the layer of granularity they need to build trust in the predictions. The end result is the Asset Life module of DigitalClone allows an Asset Manager to understand what wind turbines will experience issues, know right where the problem will be and can determine a cost effect maintenance solution that keeps the wind farm under budget and online. It is the overcoming of these challenges that qualifies our design team for a 2018 Innovations in Design Award.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
What makes this design solution unique, is the means in which we are communicating this highly sophisticated science to our end users. The design team had to determine a means in which a user with little knowledge of the core science could easily interpret and make a decision. Additionally, as our user base is broad, it does consist of user that can interpret the science, so we also had to provide them with enough details that would allow then to trust the predictions that the Asset Life tools was presenting. As any good design and software product evolves, a good design and development team will learn more about the users and the capabilities of your technology. The release of the Asset Life module is another great step in the evolution of DigitalClone and will allow our team to learn more. Additionally, we have seen our user base starting to ask another set of questions from the insights they are now gaining. This demonstrates that additional value that we have provided and allows us to start researching the next steps for enhancements.
Who worked on the project?
Aaron P. Smith - Lead & UX Researcher Chris Kuebler - Sr. UI Designer Eric Johnson - UI Designer John McCartney - UX Researcher
View the project video: https://vimeo.com/245902099
