RedEarth

I approached RedEarth, a solar panel battery manufacturer based in Brisbane, suggesting that they consider a redesign for the app that manages their batteries. They agreed and I had a chat with the company’s R&D Director and their Brand Designer about their customers feedback on the app.

We identified several key priorities for the new design:

• Clearer visual layout and hierarchy

• Less technical and more conversational tone of voice

• A modern look, matching their recently updated website

• Differentiation between on-grid and off-grid status, with state of charge communicated in ‘hours remaining’ while off-grid

• Less prominent live energy pricing because non-trading customers aren’t interested in this information

I used large clear text for the numerical text, while the ‘kW’, ‘%’ and ‘$’ text is smaller and or coloured grey to de-emphasise it. This combined with the coloured icons makes scanning the home screen much easier.

Buttons for Real Time and Daily Totals have been switched to a toggle as this better reflects users expectations.

Statistics and Pricing have been relocated to the bottom of the screen for easier one-handed use and better visual hierarchy.

Looking back the redesign could have gone further and moved unnecessary elements such as the Daily Totals toggle. 

I decided to remove the electron flow diagram to declutter the screen but the Tesla app manages to display it in a detailed yet simple way, using colours to differentiate energy sources.