Buy With Affirm Omnichannel
Company Affirm Inc.
Introduction Date June 1, 2017
Project Website
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Since our founding, Affirm’s mission has remained constant: to turn a world of financial limitations into one of possibilities. Unsurprisingly, design plays an important role in that mission by establishing trust with the customer through transparency and simplicity. The impact of our design reaches even further than Affirm and the customers who use us. We’ve seen our experience mimicked by other large fintech players, from Marcus and Bread to American Express, proving Affirm has started positively impacting the financial industry. To continue this impact, we knew we needed to move beyond online retail and go where 90% of U.S. commerce still happens - in brick-and-mortar retailers.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Please refer to attached one-pager
Who worked on the project?
Affirm’s Retail Team
View the project video:
BYTON Shared Experience Display (SED) and in-car user experience
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Introduced at CES 2018, the BYTON Concept One reflects the company’s intent to bring to market the next-generation automobile, a smart device designed for the age of shared mobility and autonomous driving. As such, the BYTON Concept One aims to provide the most intuitive, connected, personalized, and hassle-free mobility experience for innovation-seeking consumers. Furthermore, the BYTON Concept One reflects a full 85 percent of the production car that will launch in China in 2019, followed by availability in the United States and Europe in 2020. This includes multiple user interfaces, but none more visible than the vehicle’s crown jewel, the Shared Experience Display (SED), which anchors both the interior design and the overall user experience for this new smart device. The SED is an all-new, intelligent human-vehicle interactive system, and stands as one of the key distinctive features of BYTON’s Concept One. This 125cm long, 25cm high display features advanced gesture control, while also supporting touch control, voice control through Amazon Alexa, as well as facial recognition to carry preferences and content across multiple vehicles. In addition, the interior incorporates a functional design aesthetic to further emphasize interactivity, with front seats that can rotate inwards up to 12° to create a space for experience sharing, fostering in-car communication and opening the view to the BYTON SED for all passengers. Creating a robust and immersive user experience for all passengers in the Concept One was of critical importance when designing the interior of the vehicle. In addition to the SED, there are several additional interfaces of note. An 8-inch driver tablet in the steering wheel allows the driver to control the SED and driver-specific functions in real time while ensuring safety. Rear seat passengers get their own dedicated entertainment system that also features gesture controls and face recognition. Finally, every seat in the Concept One features individual control units set in the doors. As a system, the Concept One delivers a multi-dimensional user interface, providing an unprecedented, intuitive experience of human-machine interaction. The system can be continuously updated based on user feedback, making it increasingly accessible to users. The system will initially be as lightly loaded as possible, allowing users to become accustomed to it and comfortable. As users’ knowledge of the products increases, the system will load more features and content. More user feedback data will, in turn help improve the system’s software.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
In addition to the aforementioned intelligent and intuitive user experience, this interactive system also offers safe and smart connectivity via an array of flat antennas is ideally integrated in the roofline, offering a maximum speed of data transmission of 10 Gigabytes per second. This has allowed for the development of a proprietary digital cloud platform that seamlessly connects all of a user’s apps, data, and devices. Called BYTON Life, it is the technical backbone enabling the complete BYTON experience. BYTON Life furthers the user experience in the Concept One by delivering full personalization. All collected information is connected to a user’s personal BYTON ID and stored in the cloud. When a user enters the car, they are recognized and their personal profile, preferences, and content is downloaded from the cloud. Furthermore, BYTON Life enables seamless connectivity, with a direct handover from out-of-car touchpoints to in-car touchpoint, e.g. music from a user’s phone or Netflix from a user’s TV switches over to the car once they enter it. Securing this user experience is part of BYTON’s connectivity DNA. BYTON Security Lab is an in-house group of leading-edge security experts who are focused on the research and development of new methods to prevent attacks on vehicles and develop countermeasures. Connectivity is encrypted not only when the vehicle communicates to the cloud, but also within the vehicle network itself. Finally, it’s worth noting that Concept One’s user experience does not begin and end with content and connectivity. The SED and other screens in the vehicle are designed to be safe for all users and passengers. For example, screen brightness will adapt automatically to suit the lighting conditions and can also be customized based on preferences. In addition, in driving mode dynamic content will be locked out on the SED to prevent distractions to the driver. Lastly, all screens will feature automotive-grade glass bonding that fulfills 5* NCAP safety requirements.
Who worked on the project?
Jeff Chung, VP of Engineering; Carsten Breitfeld CEO & Co-Founder; Daniel Kirchert, President and Co-Founder
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrLGMY2zp8E
Calbox: Disrupting Self-Storage
Company Callbox Storage
Introduction Date September 1, 2016
Project Website http://callboxstorage.com
Why is this project worthy of an award?
If you have ever used self-storage before, you understand how brutal the process is. You have to rent a truck, convince friends and family to help, then load the truck and haul things back and forth to a storage unit. We estimate this is about a 6-hour process for the average user. This must be the worst chore on earth. The good news is Callbox Storage is disrupting the archaic $30 billion self-storage industry. We have created a logistics platform that streamlines this process. Customers sign up with Callbox by visiting callboxstorage.com or by calling us at (833) WE-STORE (833-937-8673). Then, we send a team of Storage Professionals to load and haul things to our secure storage facility. After the items are stored safely in our facility we provide customers with a photo inventory of what is in storage. We designed our technology so that customers can easily search for their items in storage and with just the click of a button request whatever they need back. This can be as simple as one box, or everything in storage. Through the use of our innovative technology, we are now able to completely eliminate the need for an individual to go back and forth to a storage unit. Forgot where you stored the camping gear in your dusty, dark, storage unit? Not with Callbox. With our easy to use search feature a customer can identify all their camping gear and request it to be delivered back to their door. We even accommodate next day delivery. Don’t want to haul your Christmas decorations back and forth to your storage unit? No problem. Leave them on your doorstep and we will pick them up, store them, and return them when it’s time to decorate next year. Due to efficiencies gained in our technology, we are able to only charge customers for the space they are using, not for the space they don’t. This is revolutionary because many customers pay for storage units that are bigger than they really need. Through artificial intelligence built into our system we are able to determine the exact size storage plan for each customer based on the items they are storing. There is no more guessing and no more paying for wasted space. We launched Callbox in September 2016 and since then have received an overwhelming response from customers. They love it! Since then, we have been very fortunate to expand into a total of 5 markets (Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and Phoenix). We expect to grow the company across the country, and, internationally as well.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
Our design is unique because it is revolutionizing how people use self-storage. People hate self-storage. It is a hassle, takes too much time, and you loose track of what you stored the second you leave the facility. On top of that, storage facilities are creepy. Long empty hallways, dark, many times dirty and unclean. For this and other reasons people loathe the process of getting things to and from storage. Through our Callbox platform we are converting a tiresome process into one that takes just minutes with the click on a phone. With real estate prices rising through the roof the demand for self-storage is at an all time high. Occupancy rates for the industry are above 90%, rates are rising, and the need for storage is stronger than ever. We have designed our platform to turn the dysfunctional, into something that is functional. With the ease of use of our technology we are now a good solution for that family of four living in a small home, or the city apartment dweller that is cramped for space. Since we have simplified the storage process and provide ease of use and clarity, we have positioned our platform to be and extension of the home eliminating the need for customers to go back and forth to a storage unit. We are that extra closet for the items used less frequently or the temporary storage solution of the home remodel.
Who worked on the project?
Kyle Bainter and Dan Slaven - Co-Founders
View the project video: https://www.facebook.com/callboxstorage/videos/555765918120075/
Campus Visit Experience
Why is this project worthy of an award?
College visits are a crucial part of a student’s future—and not all experiences are created equally. Most visits provide a basic overview, like college rankings and number of students. This can leave visitors unsure how to differentiate between institutions. Some admission offices even apply a one-size-fits-all rule, showing off buildings and facilities that prospective students may never step foot in over their four years. Lynn University, an innovative, personalized and global university with approximately 3,000 students from nearly 100 countries and every state, has a different approach. Choosing a university is investing in a future, and Lynn is committed in helping students make the best decision. The objective is to provide an experience that helps students determine whether Lynn is a good fit by allowing them to experience it first-hand before making a decision. Its efforts are paying off. In 2017, 42% of students who participated in Lynn’s Campus Visit Experience (CVE) enrolled at Lynn—a 22% increase since its initiation in 2011. So what exactly is the CVE? It is creating memorable experiences, starting with the initial interaction before the student’s arrival on campus. After registering online, the campus visit coordinator prepares students for their visit by providing them an opportunity to share their academic, athletic, cultural or social interests. Upon arrival, the on-the-ground experience begins as noted by The New York Times which wrote, “Everybody knows your name. At Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., the security guard welcomes you to campus by name and directs you to your reserved parking spot.” Visitors are individually welcomed and informed of their day in an iPad Keynote presentation given by a Student Admission Ambassador (SAA), displaying how technology is utilized at the Apple Distinguished Institution—a designation Lynn received three times for innovation in learning, teaching and environment. This is one of at least six points where students see or hear their name on campus. Then, students are paired with an SAA, chosen based on interest or background, who will take them on a private campus tour. They are also offered lunch with a student or professor and to meet with an admission counselor. Meetings with special areas, like International Student Services or Athletics, can also be arranged. One parent who rated Lynn 5 stars on Facebook shared, “Our visit was welcoming and inviting from the first interaction at the gate. To quote my daughter ‘I love that they make this process human, and I think they care about me and I won't be just a number.’ How can you say no to that? Class of 2022 here we come.” Lynn’s CVE has been featured by University Business and Inside Higher Ed, which reported, “The result is an experience that departs significantly from the traditional tour and Q&A session that dominate the world of campus visits. It is a resource-intensive model, requiring significant participation from students and faculty members, but it is an investment that Lynn administrators say has paid dividends.”
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
The Campus Visit Experience emphasizes personalization: Lynn Student Admission Ambassadors (SAA) are encouraged to share their experience with prospective families. Visitors might not remember where the health center is or how many students live on campus, but they will remember the story about how their tour guide used AirPlay to show their class a YouTube video pertaining to that day’s lesson, or meeting in the library with a professor who took time to help with a difficult assignment because they believed in them. Lynn’s SAAs program was designed to give students a campus experience perspective from students like them. The idea is that if students can make a connection with their tour guide right from the start, then it will make the conversations flow better and create a more memorable experience. Over the last year, Lynn added 75 new SAAs from an additional 15 majors, 8 NCAA Division II sports teams, and several additional geographic regions. In total, the 112-person student staff represents 32 countries and nearly 20 states, 24 languages, and 29 different majors. This diverse group allows the Office of Admission to pair a prospect from Germany who wants to study aviation management with another international student who is studying a similar major. Most recently, SAAs were trained to offer virtual tours, specifically catering to Lynn’s over 20% international population that cannot take a campus tour in person. With the use of FaceTime on iPads, SAAs can connect to students anywhere in the world. One parent shared these sentiments after her visit, “The most heartfelt welcoming group of humans we've ever encountered, beginning at the entrance gate. Lynn has a family of employees and students. Met more than our most imaginable expectations. My daughter will be an addition to Lynn U in the summer. Very exciting! Thank ALL of you!” In addition to daily campus visits, Lynn provides two Saturday visits throughout the year, a winter break visit, five Preview Lynn days (open houses) and one overnight Admitted Student Experience (ASE). ASE is Lynn’s signature campus visit that invites 125 admitted students to stay two days and one night on campus. Students are hosted by SAA staff, Housing and Residence Life, Athletics and various volunteers across campus. ASE offers activities such as a campus-wide scavenger hunt, late-night movie, poolside barbeque, games, and campus tours. Separate programming is tailored to prepare parents for the college transition. A mother noted her experience: “I have 2 other children in college, so we have done many college visits ... The atmosphere on campus has an electricity to it that seems contagious ... we’ve caught it!” No matter what program prospective students and families participate in, Lynn ensures that they leave feeling that they’re more than a number: they’re part of Lynn. By the numbers In the 2017–18 academic year: • Over 2,000 prospective students visited from 40 states and 42 countries. • Nearly 60 faculty members have participated in visits. • Of the 2,000 students who visited campus, 670 have committed to attend Lynn.
Who worked on the project?
• Lynn University faculty, staff and students led by: o Gareth P. Fowles, Vice President for Enrollment Management o Taryn Hamill, Associate Director of Enrollment Management o Tierra Thompson, Senior Associate Director, Campus Visit Experience o Kevin Studer, Campus Visit Coordinator
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kNAGuOaJgc
Changing the nature of work for first responders
Company Aerial Applications
Introduction Date September 18, 2017
Project Website
Why is this project worthy of an award?
Our team of experience strategists, designers, and architects worked with business stakeholders and drone-AI technologists to design and implement a new worker experience. This project defined new work practices in a disaster response scenario and created a digital worker experience that was used by teams on the ground during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. In the aftermath of a major disaster such as a hurricane or flood, speed is imperative in assessing damage to infrastructure and risk to human life. LDS and Aerial Applications (Aerial), paired data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or “drones”) with artificial intelligence. Aerial passes raw images captured by drones through an AI image analysis engine to quickly recognize and categorize relevant objects such as fallen trees, downed power lines, or flooded streets. This approach allows for rapid assessment and provides critical insights to individuals responding on the ground. As the dataset grows and human feedback is gathered, the image processing algorithms become increasingly accurate. As the experience strategy and design team, LDS created the intuitive experience that leverages the power of AI and machine learning to yield smarter, more coordinated response efforts when disaster strikes. We helped visualize and reason about AI-identified incidents, prioritize them, and provide project managers and front-line field responders with a coordinated response plan. We designed truly smart experiences, providing two-way communication between people and their AI counterparts. With intelligence to decipher and reason about complex information, teams can organize coordinate activity and prioritize work. But beyond simply reacting to the AI inputs, the experience also enables people to help improve the accuracy of the AI. A person might, for example, confirm or reject the way the AI has categorized an incident. Alternatively, a person could manually identify an incident at a given location, providing the AI with new information to factor. This creates a feedback loop that helps the AI get smarter over time and takes a critical step in weaving cognitive capabilities into the user experience.
What else would you like to share about your design? Why is it unique and innovative?
With this new experience, first responders would no longer be the only “eyes” on the disaster site. Drones would be able to capture fly-over imagery and feed it to an AI engine that would organize and prioritize work based on those images. The experience facilitates a successful collaboration between man and machine so that good decision making, and knowledge sharing would take place. This experience was designed with a view of the AI as a user in the solution, not just as an enabling technology. This challenged us to think about the role that the AI is playing relative to other users and how the experience can facilitate the human/AI interaction. We answered questions such as what AI contributes, who does AI interact with, and what are its responsibilities relative to other users. Our goal was to design smart experiences with AI that would redefine how people perform day to day tasks efficiently in real-time: • Workers can review and assess incidents and prioritize tasks for themselves • Project managers can set expectations rebalancing work and priorities • Project managers monitor their teams’ progress and safety • Provides a digital mechanism for open and effective communications between all users - project managers, teams in the field, and the AI engine The experience will continue to evolve over time as the AI engine learns and adapts and becomes a smart assistant. The interfaces will predict user intent, interact with the user to gather information, and construct highly relevant experiences that drive productivity.
Who worked on the project?
• Joe Sullivan, Project Sponsor and Solution Requirements, Aerial • Jeff Brooks, Project Sponsor and Solution Requirements, Aerial • Julia David, Business Analysis, LDS • Archana Mahalingam, User Experience, LDS • Jerilyn MacLaren-Hall, User Experience, LDS • Courtney Villanova, Visual Design, LDS • Dave Pfeiffer, Visual Design, LDS • Jeremy Thompson, Digital Architecture, LDS • Dan Brady, Digital Architecture, LDS • Hemant Patel, Digital Architecture, LDS • Nathan Sullivan, Technology, Aerial
View the project video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7QaQwLay0&feature=youtu.be
