Creating the charging foundation for Rivian’s Native Mobile Apps
Go to Market - UX Designer Project Lead
Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.
Rivian had been working on their first production facility in Normal, IL—getting ready to deliver their R1 vehicle’s to new owners. Along with the vehicle, Rivian Owners could expect to have access to a companion app, “A Co-Pilot for adventures” on the day of delivery. I joined Rivian to help design all things charging and how the app worked with you and your environment as owning an EV had it’s challenges, but also it’s luxuries.
The most critical product requirement for this project was for owners to have their phone key (Rivian App) on the day of delivery & the ability to charge with Rivians partner networks.
Background
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We knew owners were very eager to get their R1, but there was a steep learning curve & shift ahead before they became seasoned in the rhythm of charging.
Anxious about the unknown
Our pre-owners had so many questions about how charging a car worked. i.e. how packed are the charging stations, how long does it take to charge. With so many of our pre-owners being new to EV’s, we need to help them become comfortable with the idea of charging, trying a new routine/rhythm and build their confidence.
Undoing 100 years of car culture
Stakeholders expressed that charging is simple, but there’s a lot of shifting to do. They expressed we’re creating a new charging culture where it should never be inconvenient to charge and instead it’s apart of our daily rhythm. It’ll always be “charge and eat, charge and ____”.
UX Strategy & Approach
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Charging should fit into your rhythm.
Some EV Owners with the most confidence have integrated charging perfectly into their life and routine where they hardly see it as a challenge.
Our biggest challenge was to give owners confidence that owning a Rivian is even easier & better than what you’ve done in the past.
From anxiety to preparedness. From preparedness to advocacy. Led by a mission to propel the world into a lifestyle of electrified adventure
We knew the experience needed to feel effortless, this was key to instill early stages of confidence for our owners.
No surprises
One misap as an EV owner can throw off your whole day and make it very difficult. We want to cultivate and experience where we’re always 10 steps ahead.
Learn day by day, not all at once
Becomming an expert in charging won’t come in a day. We want to help ease insightful information so that you know the ins and outs of EV ownership and charging.
Digestible data & intuitive actions
Energy and charging can be very unpredictable, but we want to make energy & session data easy to understand so you know exactly what to do anytime.