Empowering Green Choices: Transforming the Octopus Energy App and Home Mini for a Sustainable Future
Overview
Engage in a 24-hour collaborative, cross-disciplinary sprint, where participants are challenged to create innovative digital solutions for a problem posed by Octopus Energy.
My Role
UX/UI Designer
The Challenge
Encouraging customers to make sustainable choices with the Home Mini
Octopus Energy, a global leader in sustainable energy supply, is committed to fostering an affordable and renewable energy future. Serving over 5.3 million customers across 14 countries, the company prioritizes the utilization of renewable energy sources. Integral to this effort is the Octopus Home Mini, which enables customers to monitor their energy usage and costs in real-time.
Confronted with the double challenges of climate change and rising energy costs, Octopus Energy posed a crucial question:
How might we encourage customers to make the most of abundant cheap green energy and avoid using expensive fossil fuels?
Researching Renewable Energy
Establishing the foundation: Understanding the renewable energy landscape
The sprint began with a deep dive into the problem. We synchronised our understanding of renewable energy and the associated user behaviours. This looked like conducting desktop research to understand the background of renewable energy and better understand the functions of the Octopus Home Mini.
With this challenge, our team adopted an agile methodology to ensure we used our time efficiently. Our team collectively worked together to conduct secondary research, while our data scientist analysed the customer base.
Key Insights
From the research we found...
From the research, we discovered a few key insights that will help us define our approach.
Practical Recommendation
The Octopus Mini app offers real-time data but falls short in providing practical suggestions for reducing carbon footprint and increasing the utilization of green energy during periods of abundance.
Smart Energy Consumption
Customers want a clear indication of when they are using energy that is susbtainable.
Enviromental Conscience
Comsuer want to be more evironmental aware of thier carbon footprint and want to know what they can do to reduce it
Data Anaslyses
Unveiling Insights: User Patterns in Renewable Energy
From the data sets, Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to be willing to change to green energy and are more concerned about climate change. Further research found that Gen Z and Millennials wanted cheap clean energy that was sustainable for the planet.
We also found that they wanted to see what impact they were having on the environment by making their decisions.
Table 1: Willing to make changes
Table 2: Concerned about climate change
Redefining the problem statement
Zoning into the specific issue consumers face
Based on the research we decided to redefine our problem statement so that we can solve the issue of helping Octopus Energy promote sustainable energy while also helping customers to reduce expenses.
How might we encourage users to make environmentally impactful energy decisions whilst saving money by using the Octopus Home Mini?
Creating the Persona
EcoVibes: Tom's Data-Driven Journey
Based on the data we have gathered we created the persona to capture Gen Z and Millennials as they are the most concerned with making a sustainable impact. We also wanted to capture what they experience when they want to be more sustainable, but also be cost-effective at the same time.
At first, our data scientists and developers were unfamiliar with the concept of a persona. I seized the chance to elucidate its importance, stressing the value of user-centric design. This strategy prompted our team to continuously prioritize our user, Tom, throughout the hackathon process, from brainstorming to client presentations.
Design Opportunities
Gamifing the experience while scheduling sustainable energy usage
Optimal Energy Usage
We identified the need for a feature that advises users like Tom on the optimal times to use energy, balancing environmental impact with cost-effectiveness. This solution would enable users to make more informed decisions about their energy consumption.
Gameitfation Experience
Another opportunity is to present users with their real-time environmental impact and financial savings in an engaging, gamified way. This approach aims to make energy management both informative and enjoyable, encouraging users to actively engage in sustainable practices.
Sketching
Showing Tom the best time to wash his dishes
After pinpointing crucial design opportunities, our UX team proceeded to draft low-fidelity wireframes. We promptly circulated these drafts among our development counterparts, ensuring alignment of our goals and establishing a deadline to progress to mid-fidelity wireframes by 10 pm. Concurrently, the developers were diligently setting up Github and laying the groundwork for the required code structures.
Visual Design
Following Octopus guidelines
When creating the sketchs we created a UI inspiration board to what inspritation we can draw from them.
Octopus Energy Brand Guidelines
We were given limited brand guidelines from Octopus Energy, therefore it was important for us to create a cohesive style.
UI Inspiration Board
Our Soultion
Introducting Octozon
In the project's final phase, the UX and development teams collaborated intensively despite tight deadlines. While the UI was being polished and preparations for the presentation were underway, the developers focused on refining and testing the code. We utilized Figma for a seamless asset handover and turned to Zeplin when necessary, ensuring continuous communication.
The name "Octozone," aptly proposed by our data scientist Jeremy, effectively captured the essence of our energy usage reminder feature.
Key technologies such as JSX, CSS (Sass), JavaScript, and React.js, combined with a collaborative git workflow, were essential in bringing "Octozone" to fruition.
Presenting
Presenting to the Octopus Team
Teaming up with colleagues, we presented our solution to the Octopus Energy team. Leading the presentation, I guided them through Tom's journey within the app, showcasing how our design meets his needs and optimizes energy usage. The detailed walkthrough highlighted the app's user-friendly interface and innovative features, effectively conveying the value and potential impact of our project.
Next Steps
Energizing Insights with Octopus Energy
User Testing
Our top priority is to carry out user testing with real participants. This step is essential to validate our design choices and ensure that our solution effectively addresses user needs.
Tracking Impact
Addressing team misunderstandings highlighted the necessity of maintaining clear and precise communication.
Connect with Smart Devices
We intend to integrate smart home devices with the Octopus Home Mini, enabling users to schedule their devices to operate during optimal energy periods.
Key Learnings
Energizing Insights with Octopus Energy
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Improving Cross-Functional Teamwork: We developed a greater respect and comprehension for various disciplines, improving our ability to handle conflicts efficiently.
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Mastering Time Management: The strict timeline emphasized the critical need for effective time management, making sure every minute was used wisely.
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Importance of Clear Communication: We will establish metrics to monitor Octozone usage and adherence, offering insights into user engagement and informing improvements to enhance sustainability impact.
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Significance of Presentation Quality: We recognized the importance of delivering a well-prepared and content-rich presentation.