CES® is the most influential tech event in the world — the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators.
Role: Lead UX
Year: 2020-2021
Company: Razorfish
Client: Stellantis – Jeep
Overview
In November 2019, I was part of a Publicis Sapient team responsible for bringing the Jeep CES 2020 app to life.
As the Lead UX, I led the product creation process from start to finish, from crafting user journeys, sketching flows and wireframes, facilitating workshops with the team and key stakeholders, presenting our idea to the client, creating the final visual designs and supporting our development team.
The Ask
Jeep was going to unveil a VR experience using an actual Jeep vehicle at CES 2020 and needed a companion app. The idea was that fans would use the app to access the experience, follow their spot in the line, check the scoreboards, engage with the new features Jeep was bringing to the expo, and win badges for their experience.
The main challenge was an extremely short timeline. We had to design, build, and launch this companion app in 6 weeks, with ever-changing requirements and integrations with 3rd party vendors. We took the challenge.
Discovery
With no time to lose, we started gathering information from stakeholders to get a glimpse of what was ahead of us. Requirements were scarce as this was a brand new project for the client, and 3rd party vendors were still building the VR experience.
To save time, the team decided to design the best-case scenario and, when requirements arrived, remove things if some of the features were out of scope.
We researched anything we could find on events and big conferences, as we wanted to understand the main things users needed while attending a big show.
Some of the questions we had to answer during the exploration phase:
- What is the primary feature/function of the app/site?
- How can we help the user navigate the event?
- Do users need to log in? How long is the login flow?
- Can I use the app offline/with a poor internet connection?
- What are the terms and conditions?
- Does the client expect the app to collect any data from the user?
- What are the rules of the VR experience? Any prizes or giveaways?
- How much time do we have again? Oh god.
“We have to design, build and launch this companion app in 6 weeks.”
Ready. Set. Go.
With an initial plan of action, we locked ourselves in a room filled with whiteboards and, together with Rahul Kumar (leading developer and time bender), started sketching our ideas for the app.
The team received my ideas well, so I took the lead and guided the session by sketching the main flow of the app and its UI. One of these ideas was to make the signup/login process as easy as possible via a Magic link that we would send to the user’s email, and the email would work as the authentication we needed. People in line would want to get into the action quickly, and engagement would go down a lot if we forced people to go through a typical signup flow.
The first draft of the complete app was done in a day, allowing us to invite the client for a workshop the next day.
When the client arrived, instead of a whiteboard with sketches, they were presented with all the wires done on Sketch posted on the wall and a link so they could access a working prototype on Invision.
I facilitated this session to introduce our ideas to the client, include them in the design process, and capture crucial information they may have forgotten to pass down through emails. At the end of the workshop, we got the green light, and the development team was able to start working on the foundation of the app while we updated the wires with the feedback we got.
Impact
2nd most downloaded app for the search term “CES 2020”.
The quick creative turnaround allowed the development team to build and submit the app before the Christmas break. Jeep was extremely happy with the results of the app and chose to use it as a foundation for the future.
Wires and Final Design
Visual design done in partnership with Melanie Wong.
