Background
EVpiper set out to simplify the world of electric cars. With a goal to make electric vehicle (EV) information easy to find and understand, EVpiper brought together details about different EVs, charging stations, reviews, and prices all in one place. Before EVpiper, finding clear EV info was tough, as it was scattered. Now, EVpiper helps people explore and choose EVs without confusion.
My Role
In my role as a UX/UI Designer at EVpiper, I took on the task of investigating user challenges. I read lots of articles and did different types of research to learn about the problems users were facing.
My goal was to make the website easy to use and look good, so people could find electric car information without any trouble.
For better understanding, I have divided the process into 7 parts.
- Understanding the problem statements
- Framing the 5W's and 1H questions
- Secondary Research
- Primary Research
- Analyzing the data
- Defining problems
- Ideating solutions
1. Understanding the problem statement
1.1 Problem statement:
The pandemic and lockdown made people think more about clean energy and higher fuel costs. People want electric cars but feel confused by all the choices. Evpiper is here to help by making it easy to pick the right electric car and understand why.
2. Framing The 5W's and 1H questions
2.1 Questions with solutions
Note: These solutions are based on online research and not user interviews
Q1) What is the problem that we need to solve?
- People tend to get _ confused _ and _ cannot _ find a suitable vehicle for themselves as there are multiple options.
- The users whats a _ one-stop solution for EVs __. As other platforms deal with other vehicles also, but_ _ EvPiper SPECIFICALLY deals in EVs ONLY _
Q2) Who are the users?
For better understanding, I have divided the users into 3 sets
Q3) What features do users currently find useful?
There are multiple specs that the users check before buying some of them are:
- Type of vehicle.
- Type of battery and its capacity
- Its Range
- Warranty of the battery
Q4) Why do users prefer EVs over traditional-based cars/bikes/trucks etc?
- The first and the most important reason is the increase in petrol prices.
- It has a lower running cost and maintenance.
(Questions without answers)
Note: Answers to the following questions could not be found online as they are based on user input.
Q1) What factors affect the decision of the users?
I need to find out that while choosing the right EV that they want to buy, what is their mindset? What reasons do they consider?
Q2) How difficult is it to decide what to buy?
Understanding user patterns while selecting the EV that they want. Do they struggle to make a decision? If yes, in what ways does it affect their experience?
3. Secondary Research
Also known as desk research, this stage involves a lot of research and googling to get an overall understanding of the topic we are dealing with.
_ Disclaimer __: Data collected is mostly within the realm of India to avoid inconsistencies in the later stages._
3.1 Why are electric vehicles the future?
- So according to the article inOutlook India, The global market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing continuously. This exponential growth is being driven by various factors, including concerns about pollution.
- Also, there is a significant cost saving on running and maintenance
For further understanding, I went through more articles and one of the most important points that why electric vehicles are the future was quoted by YourStory
The continuous hike in fuel prices is a big motivator for vehicle owners and new buyers to look at cheaper options, and EVs fit the bill
sources:https://yourstory.com/2022/09/lessons-from-indian-electric-vehicle-ev-mobility-market
Top 5 Reasons Why Electric Vehicles Are The Future Of Driving In 2022
3.2 Challenges affecting the users:
The end-user faces:
- Range Anxiety: For an EV user, range anxiety refers to the concern about the number of kilometers an EV will run i.e. how long the battery power will last.
- Time Anxiety : Customers are keen to charge their EVs as quickly as possible; this too isn't feasible with the current charging technologies that are available in the market.
- Charge Anxiety: Charge anxiety is about whether or not the EV user will find a charging station in the first place. This is followed by the issue of trust.
Also according toEvehicleshop.in people who buy EVs face temperature issues as the temperature can affect the performance of an EV battery to a large extent which makes EVs inappropriate for too cold (Uttarakhand, Meghalaya) or too hot regions like (Rajasthan, Kerala). The battery can give its ideal performance when it's in use under the temperature range of 15–40 degrees.
3.3 Current EV Statistics in India:
According to Google :
and according to Evreporter, the number of vehicles sold in 2022 is
source:https://www.google.com https://evreporter.com/indias-electric-vehicle-sales-trend-july-2022/
3.4 Factors influencing adoption of electric vehicles — A case in India
From the data analysis, six unique components/factors were identified:- 1. Financial barriers/ factors 2. Vehicle Performance barriers/ factors 3. Lack of charging infrastructure 4. Environmental concern 5. Societal influence 6. Awareness of electric vehicles
source:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311916.2022.2085375
From this, I would like to come up with one of the famous concepts known as the PARETO principle
The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes.
Therefore, I wanted to focus on the factors affecting the adoption of electric vehicles.
4. Primary Research
Now, we move to the next step where we gather information directly from users. We talk to them and learn about the problem
4.1 Defining the target users:
Defining users helps us get insight into the type of audience (target group) that utilizes the product.
Tool User: Miro | Source: EvPiper
4.1 Questions
**Note:- These are some of the questions asked to the user
If you decide to upgrade to a new 4-wheeler, which powertrain technology would you opt for?
-
hybrid Electric
-
Diesel Ice
-
Petrol
-
Battery electric
What do you consider to be the main disadvantage of electric vehicles?
-
Safety
-
Limited charging Infrastructure
-
Price
-
Range Anxiety
-
Long recharging time
In its current form, do you think electric vehicles are a safe option?
-
Yes
-
No
-
Maybe
An image showing the results of the survey
4.1 Statements from user
"_ **The unknown cost of maintenance along with its repair is a major reason to stop me from adopting an EV." — ** __Prakash Jadav(IT Professional)_
"_ I think that the cost of replacing an EV battery is very high." __ — Rita(Marketing Strategist)_
Financial barriers are preventing both of them from using the EV.
"_ **I would only prefer to use the Electric Vehicle for short-distance journeys." — ** __Sanket Makhija_
This user is affected by vehicle performance and lack of charging infrastructure.
"_ **Driving an EV would express my environmental awareness." — ** __Neha Pandey(Content Marketer)_
Social pressure and environmental concerns are motivating this user to purchase an EV.
5. Analyse the data
We need to analyze the data collected because raw data is difficult to understand. It is useful at the beginning of a design process to understand the learnings of the interview. We have found that:-
- On the basis of gender, a majority of this study was males , it can be interpreted that the EV automobile industry should focus on the male counterpart of society.
- On the basis of age maximum percentage of respondents belonged to the age group of 25–34 years.
To get a better understanding of the users' behaviors I will be classifying the users into sets. The type of users and their priorities are understood during this analysis. It will guide me in examining what problems they are facing and the importance of those features to those users.
Tool Used: Miro | Source: Evpiper
USER PERSONAS:
This stage is used to organize the data analyzed into a format that can be easily interpreted using personas (characters) that represent each user set.
Find User Personas here ->https://www.notion.so/Personas-b7e609f07c1a4549b4a5268388f88642
6. Defining Problems
At this stage, I will be pinpointing the areas that need to be improved and frame HMW (How Might We) questions to address them.
_ Problem 1-factors affecting the adoption of electric vehicles _ How might we highlight the main factors in a different way?
_ Problem 2-Difficulty in deciding what to buy? _ How might we enhance the product detailing to ensure the users find the best deal?
_ Problem 3-Finding a good deal with the credibility of EVs is challenging _ How might we gain the trust of EV buyers?
7. Ideating Solutions
to ideate the solution to the problems stated above I have first created a wireframe followed by UI design guidelines.
7.1 Wireframes
Tool Used: Balsamiq
A wireframe is basically a blueprint of the screens that will be designed in the next stage. I have created High-Fidelity Wireframes. Here are the images below 👇
7.2 UI Design
Tool Used: Figma
Color Guide
Logo Guide Tool Used: Adobe Illustrator
Buttons Guide:
Creating components for EVPiper
Figma file for the screens:-https://www.figma.com/file/FHJponSCIgtqNV7SBfRLNd/EvPiper?node-id=1%3A3&t=oVs0U1qxUO21xisI-1
7.3 Ideating solutions
The solutions are ideated based on section 6
_ Problem 1-factors affecting the adoption of electric vehicles _ Q. How might we highlight the main factors in a different way?
Possible solution: Using cardsthat will highlight all the features of the product. These cards will be in a different color with soft rounded corners so that its appealing to the eyes and a light stroke so that people tend to focus more on it (Here I would like to highlight one of the laws of UX — VON-RESTOROFF EFFECT which is also known as The Isolation Effect)
Read More about Von Restoroff Effect :-https://lawsofux.com/von-restorff-effect/
Product Image showing the cards
_ Problem 2-Difficulty in deciding what to buy? _ Q. How might we enhance the preferences to ensure the users find the best deal?
Possible Solution: The search feature or the product should not only aid users who know what features they want but also those who are facing difficulty in choosing an appropriate EV for themselves. For this purpose, use filter options based on preferences. Here the main filters like price range and sort by will be visible on the screen while the rest will be hidden in the modal box( Here I would like to highlight again the laws of UX- HICKS LAW )
Therefore showing more filters to the user at first glance will make the decision process complex.
Adding another feature of asking Ev experts. EV Experts are people who help users to decide which EV to buy according to their requirements.
Read more about Hicks Law:-https://lawsofux.com/hicks-law/
Filter Option in a Modal Box
Filters
_ Problem 3-Finding a good deal with the credibility of EVs is challenging _ Q. How might we gain the trust of EV buyers?
Possible Solution: Now to gain more credibility we have added a new feature known as EvPiper Score. This EvPiper Score will be determined based on the rating of the product and reviews of the users. This feature will be a signifier in terms of a different color, and different border and will be present on the top-right corner of the product cards and product detail pages (Here I am following the Z Shape Eye tracking Pattern)
Read more about Z Shape Eye Tracking Pattern:https://lineindesign.medium.com/be-a-designer-who-can-also-help-with-writing-copy-2f4ea02a5646