Ninja Cross-functional Team Structure
✏️ 1 x UX/UI Designer (me)
1 x UX Designer
1 x Senior UI Designer
1 x Creative Director
🔧 3 x Full Stack Developers
📋 1 x Client Lead
Diary studies conducted with 10 commuters across the UK to gather insights.
The Ninja Journey Planner
“I want to know when my train is delayed before it’s delayed.”
The concept
The original idea was for the scene to revolve around a central point. The character ninja would hover above the modes of transport and give you notifications during your journey.
The concept revolved around a journey ‘wheel’.
An early concept which we quickly protoyped.
When prototypes go (hilariously) wrong.
A coded prototype of the journey wheel concept.
Design development
After user testing the prototype we pivoted and refined the design. The ‘circular’ concept was kept as the ‘journey wheel’ and the other screens were revised to look more like a traditional journey planner app.
8 guiding principles
01
Clever companion
Our system is intelligent and trustworthy. It speaks with confidence and authority, remaining reassuring and light-hearted. Nobody likes a show-off so we replace jargon with clear everyday language.
02
Keep it simple
Although the algorithms behind our functionalities are complex, we keep the UI simple and free of clutter. Information is the focus and it is delivered in bite-sized chunks.
03
Bespoke
Intelligently personalise the experience informed by the information we know about the user, their situation and context at the time of interaction.
04
Minimise effort
Gather user data in a non-invasive way, by learning behaviour and using external sources (e.g. calendar, social profile etc). Capture data in an effortless way.
05
Solutions (not problems)
All notifications delivered to the user are formulated as actionable advice. Suggestions take into consideration their unique preferences and context to craft a stress-free journey.
06
Add joy
Strive to introduce delight throughout the experience. Use humour and personaility where appropriate to make the user smile.
07
Always on
Our involvement is continuous and we anticipating the user’s needs before they arise. We don’t stop planning or booking a journey but run quietly in the background, ready to spring into action as soon as we’re needed.
08
No let-downs
The information we deliver is always accurate and relevant to the user. They can count on us to never let them feel lost of misled. We create a hub of information that caters for all of the user’s travel needs. End to end and door to door.
A comprehensive design document was created to capture the information architecture of the app.