Final npower boards

The most powerful force in driving social change is the basic human need to compare oneself to those around them.

Open Npower creates a community of enegry users, rewarding those who are most efficent.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

DISCOVER

DEFINE

DESIGN

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Brief [Competition D&AD]

Market

Visual

npower is an electricity and gas provider. They want to engage more with customers to help them choose the best products and services for their needs. Alongside electricity and gas, npower also offer a number of energy-saving advice products which can help customers to reduce their energy usage and associated costs.

Global energy use is a hot topic in world news and how we consume enegry as well as rising energy prices are big issues that need to be tackled and there may companies trying to people become more enegry efficent, I have researched into a few key business who are currently sucessful in this market.

Visually I have explored how the use of colour can be used a symbol for enegry, when we use energy we don’t see it so we are unaware of how much we use, with this brief I want to create an app that helps visualise enegry so we can be more aware of how much we use, this formed the premise of my visual research. I have also invesgated the use of the circle as a device for displaying measurement.

Customers already have access to a number of online tools and apps which let them visualise and compare their energy use and manage their account with npower. Design an app that helps people use their energy more wisely, which at the same time is fun or interesting. There must be a stand-alone reason to use the app, in addition to it being functional.

Design an app that helps people use their energy more wisely, which at the same time is fun or interesting. There must be a stand-alone reason to use the app, in addition to it being functional.

User Your app should be targeted to UK domestic energy customers. Focus on a customer in a particular group, situation or scenario.

Deliverables -

Nest Nest is a smart themostat that learns your routine and automatically adjusts your heating and cool to deliever settings that are the most cost effective and efficient. The product encourages users to be more smart with there energy use by challenging them with increasingly difficult goals.

On going documentation on Blog A minimum of 5 submission boards Application Screens Walkthrough Video

FitBit FitBit is a wearable band that monitors the users physical activity and other data to create apps that allows users to track their fitness and lifestyle. This type of technology could be used to monitor energy and deliever messages to users.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

DISCOVER

DEFINE

DESIGN

2

User Personas

Strategy

Application Workflow & Wireframes

Development

Based on the information provided to me within the brief I created a series of three user persona’s which will enable me to ensure that application features I’m developing are appropriate to users wants and needs. These persona’s form a constant reference point through the development and design process.

The concept that I have developed for the application is based around the idea that driving social change is effective when we are compared with those around us or our neighbours. Central to the application with be three views, an individual view, family view and street view. For each of these view users will be able to compare there energy use to other users. This is effective is driving change in users enegry usage habits as, if they neighbours are being more energy efficent and saving money as a result they will want to do the same. Essentially the app is creating a gamification element to energy use and encouraging people to be compeitive and as a result become more energy efficent.

After defining the stratergy for the concept of the app and what features need to be included. I produced a set of low-fi wireframes which displayed the content and fucntionality which needed to appear on each screen. Secondary to this I produce the workflow for the application which details how users will transistion between different screens and features within the app.

Central to the interface design will be use of the circles as this will enable to UI to be transferred and used with wearable devices. However within the development stage I explored how the circle could be visually used to represent the range of different data and features required for the app. I looked at line thickness, colour and segmentation to achieve the communication needs and for visual variation.

Jennifer Jennifer is recently married and has moved into her first home with her husband. They’ve moved to a new area to start a family, and are egar to become part of the community. She earns an average salary and care about saving money in order to save money for a future baby.

Neil Neil is the father and husband of a family of five. One of his sons is away at university and the other stills in school. Life is hectic organising the busy scedules of everyone in the house. Neil has a lot to pay for and wants to save money where he can but still live well.

Lucy Lucy is a student studying away from home, she doesn’t have a job and the cost of going to university is higher than ever. Keeping bills at a minimum is key to living well as a student. She lives with five other people and are part of the exisiting community.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

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Individual [Above] When users open the application on there smart device they are present with a personalised home screen. This screen details there progress towards there current goals. The apps main functionaility is centred around goals every users has goals they must achieve which help them become more energy efficient and use less enegry. For every goal they complete they are rewarded with points which are redeemable against their energy bill. This view also offers users quicks links into other features of the app such as the home battery, knowledge bank and energy rating.

Family [Left] The main premise of the application has three views, the first of which being the individual view, from this view the user then moves into the family, this gives the users an overview of the household’s users and how well they are working towards there individiual goals. As well as working on indiviual goes the application sets goals that the family must complete collectivley this means family members must work together to become energy efficient.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

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Watch the app walkthrough on my blog

Family Goals [Above] In order to change the way we live we must work together, it is a battle we cannot win alone, therefore to be more productive in changing our behaviour setting goals groups encourages families to work together and help each other to meet goals. This view shows the user the current goal the family is working towards completing as well as showing the user to what extent each family memeber has played in completing the goal.

Users can also swipe between past and upcoming goals enabling them to revist past goals and switch their current one.

Street [Right] The street view takes the family view to the next levels and shows the street the user lives on and how well each of the households on the street are currently doing in relation to there goals, providing they are npower customers. This view and be alternated between percentage towards current goal or money saved this month. This feature is there to encourage users to be competive with each other. Additionally streets and communities can work together to achieve community goals in which NPower supports communities with new technology to become even more enegry efficent, for example installing solar panels in there area at a discounted price.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

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Home Battery [Left] Home battery is at the centre of why all this energy efficeny matters, we need to fundementally change how we think about energy and home battery does this. Home battery powers the users how it collects power from the grid and from renewable energy such as solar panels. The home battery is charged from these resources and surplus is sold back to the grid. Home battery allows users to see how much money they’re saving as well as money they’re making from energy they’re are selling. This view also allows users to keep control of smart features in the home such as security camera, heating and alarms.

Wearables [Above] The application’s interface has been specifically designed so that it can remain functional across wearable devices such as smart watches. This fulfills the concept in being able to see the energy we use. The watches interface gives the user quick access to an overview of there goals, as well as home battery view. But the watch can also provide ambient, unobtrusive notification which can notify the user when they being energy efficient and when they wasting enegry as well provide energy saving tips.

BRIEF 5: NPOWER

DESIGN

DEFINE

DESIGN

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