Designing a calmer way to charge an electric car
Product design and a shared design system for an electric vehicle charging network, from the app in a driver's pocket to the screen on every charger.
- Client
- Northstar Charge
- Year
- 2024
- Timeline
- 26 weeks
- Services
- Brand strategy & identity
- Digital products
The challenge
Northstar was opening hundreds of new charging sites, but drivers rated the experience poorly. Finding a working charger, starting a session and understanding the price each happened in a different place, and the screens on the chargers had been designed by three different hardware suppliers.
Our approach
We treated the app, the charger screens and the on-site signage as a single product. One design system now runs across all of them, with large type and high-contrast layouts that stay readable in direct sunlight and at night. The app shows live availability and the exact price before a driver plugs in, and a session starts with one tap in the app or a tap of a card at the charger.
The outcome
App ratings climbed to the top of the category, failed charging sessions fell by half, and the design system now ships with every new site Northstar opens.
- App store rating, up from 3.1
- 4.8
- Fewer failed charging sessions
- 52%
- Chargers running the new interface
- 600+
For the first time our app, our chargers and our signs feel like one company. Drivers can tell.
Marcus Bell
VP of Product, Northstar Charge