Hikers and commuters often need a source of water. Because water fountains are hard to locate — users often find it difficult to find a clean source of water. Once they find a water fountain, they don’t know if the water is clean or has been filtered.
For my prototyping class, I conceptualized Refill—a prototype of a smart water fountain that can filter water and connect to a mobile app.
Users can sync their mobile phone with the smart water fountain
Mobile app users can find the nearest water fountain and get filtered water
Mobile app users can refill their bottles with water using the machine
Users can get information about the filtration machines’ water safetyMobile app can accept donations from interested donors for the services they provide
Being an avid hiker and commuter, I brainstormed potential features that would make Refill feel intuitive and easy to use for my target audience. I analyzed apps that specialized in the water industry and navigation then came up with a series of sketches.
We classified potential features for the Refill app. Our main focus was the features on the upper right quadrant - which are fundamental to the water filtration process - to complete our prototype.
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We gathered data from our target audience to determine the main features of a smart water filtration app. Using the knowledge gathered from our exploratory activities, we created low-fi screens designed for three main features:Onboarding, Create Account, Navigation, and Water Filtration
The main homepage would show nearby water filters within the user’s vicinity. The location of these filters would be represented with the blue water bottle icon. A bottom pop-up would display the location of nearby water filters—including the name of the destination, address, and star rating.
Users can select a location and find directions to the nearest water filter. Much like a navigation app, there’s Live View that allows you to get directions to the nearest water filter based on your real-world location. You can use Live View when walking towards the Refill device.
Once users reach their destination, they can sync their mobile phone with the Refill device. Done right, they’ll be able to input how much water they need and get their water bottles refilled.
