Powermate

Webdesign

01. OVERVIEW

A new project, a new beginning

Role
UX Designer – internship

Target audience
EV owners and drivers – people who use or are interested in electric cars.

Tools
Figma

Team
UX Designer
Developer
Product owner
Communicator

Time
3 months, Mars–May 2024

Background

During my first internship (LIA), which lasted for three months, I worked with a startup called PowerMate to design a new website that would serve as a central hub for their users. Powermate has an app that lets user find others who are willing to lend out their chargers for electric cars (for a small amount of money). The goal was to create a modern and user-friendly platform that included a homepage with map and statistics, a news feed with articles and admin functionality, as well as a concept for a forum dedicated to EV (electric vehicle) users. The work also needed to be adapted into a mobile version, ensuring accessibility across devices.

Goal

  • A homepage with charging point map and live statistics

  • A news feed with articles and an admin page for content management

  • A forum for EV users

  • A mobile-adapted version of the website

02. RESEARCH

Understanding is the key

The project had already been initiated before I joined, and a colleague had prepared some initial competitor research and a rough sketch. Building on this, I expanded the design according to the company’s requirements. I analyzed competitors such as Chargedrive, Mer, Elli, and Voltiva for the homepage, and looked at established news sites like Aftonbladet, DN, and Elbilen for inspiration on structuring the news feed. When working on the forum, I studied platforms like Flashback, SweClockers, and Reddit to understand how discussions could be categorized and presented clearly.

Analyzing competitors (Chargedrive, Mer, Elli, Voltiva)

Studying news websites (Aftonbladet, DN, SVT, Elbilen, Expressen)

Exploring forum structures (Flashback, SweClockers, Sporthoj, Facebook groups, Reddit)

03. DESIGN

Pages

The homepage was designed to provide a clear overview. Users are greeted with a map of charging points, along with statistics on participating countries, users, and charging stations. I also added a login/registration feature for forum participation, while ensuring the site remained navigable without an account.

Homepage

Newspage

On the news page, the most recent article is always highlighted, followed by a carousel of popular news, and then a feed of recently added articles. I compared various news sites to determine the most intuitive way to present text and images. The admin page for managing articles was designed with input from a colleague who had prior publishing experience, as well as inspiration from svenskafans.com. This ensured that the interface included the necessary functionality for smooth content management.

Forum page

The forum was not fully defined at the time of my internship, giving me the opportunity to explore different approaches. I included essential features such as liking, commenting, and sorting posts by popularity. For the comment section, I drew inspiration from Facebook—since many PowerMate users were already active in their Facebook group—and combined this with Reddit’s approach to handling large discussion threads.

Backoffice

Since the project included a news page, there was also a need for an admin page to manage and publish articles. I designed a simple back-office area for posting news, which was my first time working on this type of system. My initial design ended up resembling Svenskafans.com, from which I drew a lot of inspiration. Looking back, I realize that with more research I could have broadened my understanding of back-office systems and created a more refined solution.

Mobile version

All of these features were also designed in a mobile version, with careful attention to responsive layouts and easy navigation.

04. OTHER UI

What more did I do?

Beyond the website, I also contributed as a UI designer for PowerMate’s marketing materials. This included creating a roll-up for events and a flyer to help spread awareness of the company.

05. REFLECTION

Reflection & Lessons Learned

This project taught me how to step into an ongoing process and build upon existing research, how to leverage industry references to shape intuitive solutions, and how to balance digital UX design with more traditional graphic design tasks. I also got a look into the diverse tasks there can be in a starup company and to help where it is needed. Most importantly, I gained valuable experience in listening to both company owners and colleagues and translating their needs into solutions that enhance the overall user experience.

Ready to improve the user experience

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