product
Mobile Application Design
my role
Creating Personas, User Reasearch, Prototyping
timeline
2 Months
Introduction
This Mobile application was designed to make parking convenient and easy to locate in a metropolis such as Mumbai. The idea of the app was to make people aware about the nearest off street parking facilities in the city. The design was a prototype and was submitted to local government. Moreover, the idea was to shift on street parking into off street parking lots.
Context
Mumbai, as one of India’s most densely populated cities, is experiencing a sharp rise in vehicular growth, which directly increases the demand for efficient parking solutions. Current research highlights that a significant portion of the city’s traffic congestion stems from motorists circling roads to find parking spaces. Although the government is actively creating new parking facilities, awareness of their availability and location remains limited. Moreover, the lack of quality assurance and digital payment options at parking facilities adds another layer of inconvenience. This app tackles these pain points by providing a user-friendly platform where motorists can seamlessly locate, evaluate, and reserve parking spaces based on their preferences, thereby reducing stress and contributing to smoother traffic flow.
Objective
The primary objectives of Look Park are to:
Deliver a frictionless parking experience to users, ensuring convenience and efficiency for all motorists.
Simplify the process of discovering authorized and secure parking spots, with real-time updates and navigation.
Promote a safer and more organized urban environment by encouraging the adoption of off-street parking solutions.
Foster digital transformation in the parking sector by incorporating features such as online payments and user reviews for parking facilities.
These goals aim to enhance the overall quality of life in Mumbai by addressing a key urban challenge with a practical and scalable solution.
problem
Mumbai's rapidly growing population and vehicle ownership have created a significant parking crisis. Motorists face numerous challenges that impact their daily commute and overall urban experience. These challenges include:
Inability to Locate Parking Spaces:
Finding a parking spot, especially during peak hours, is a time-consuming and frustrating task for motorists. The lack of accessible information about available off-street parking spaces adds to the problem.Quality and Assurance Issues:
Many existing parking facilities lack proper maintenance, security, and infrastructure, leading to safety concerns and dissatisfaction among users. Motorists often avoid certain parking spaces due to poor conditions or fear of vehicle damage.Limited Digital Payment Options:
A significant number of parking facilities in the city still operate on cash-only systems, making it inconvenient for users accustomed to digital payment methods. The absence of a unified digital platform for parking transactions adds to this inefficiency.On-Street Parking Congestion:
The heavy reliance on on-street parking results in congestion on already crowded roads, contributing to traffic delays and posing safety risks for pedestrians and other motorists.Lack of Real-Time Availability Data:
Motorists often waste valuable time searching for parking, as there is no reliable system to provide real-time updates on availability. This lack of transparency increases stress and fuel consumption, negatively affecting both individuals and the environment.
goal
The goal of the Look Park application is to provide a seamless, efficient, and user-friendly platform for locating authorized parking spaces in Mumbai. By leveraging technology and thoughtful design, the app aims to:
Enhance User Convenience:
Simplify the process of finding parking spots by providing real-time data on available off-street parking locations, saving users time and effort.Promote Safe and Secure Parking:
Ensure that motorists have access to well-maintained and authorized parking facilities that prioritize the safety of their vehicles.Reduce Urban Congestion:
Encourage the shift from on-street parking to designated parking lots, alleviating road congestion and contributing to smoother traffic flow in the city.Enable Digital Integration:
Provide digital payment options and enhance user experiences with modern, cashless transactions for parking.Foster Sustainable Urban Practices:
Reduce fuel wastage and vehicle emissions caused by prolonged searches for parking, supporting environmentally friendly mobility practices.
Research
User Persona
Rakesh Gowarikar, a 36-year-old product manager from Mumbai, is a quintessential urban professional with a decade of experience in the IT industry. As a lifelong Mumbaikar, Rakesh values punctuality and efficiency in his daily routine, traits that align with his hustle-driven lifestyle. Despite his professional ambition, he is an introvert who prefers spending time in his comfort zone with his family, often enjoying weekend outings with his wife and son. Rakesh’s primary goals include achieving a better work-life balance, dedicating more time to family and friends, and excelling in his career for further growth. However, he frequently struggles with challenges like finding convenient and secure parking spaces, ensuring quality in parking services, and accessing digital payment options for parking. His expectations from a solution include a user-friendly, trustworthy, secure platform that offers clear and minimalistic design while saving him time and effort.
Empathy Mapping
The empathy map highlights the struggles users face with parking in a busy city. They express frustration over unclear charges, lack of regular customer benefits, and wasted fuel while searching for parking. Thoughts focus on finding secure, nearby parking quickly and saving time through pre-booking. Actions include trial-and-error searches, using Google Maps, or asking for help, often leading to unsatisfactory results. Emotionally, users feel tired, anxious, insecure, and disappointed with the current system, emphasizing the need for a streamlined and reliable parking solution.
user Flow
This flowchart outlines the user journey within the Look Park mobile application, designed to streamline the parking experience. The process begins with a Welcome Page, followed by two onboarding steps to familiarize users with the app’s features. Users can then proceed to the Search functionality, where they can explore different parking options, such as Government Parking, Private Parking, or locate the Nearest Parking based on system recommendations. Once a parking option is selected, users access detailed information about the parking spot. The next step involves Login, ensuring user authentication, followed by the Booking process, which integrates a seamless payment system. Finally, a QR Code is generated for the booking, enabling quick and secure access to the parking spot. This structured workflow ensures a smooth, user-friendly experience, saving time and reducing parking-related hassles.
early ideation
final designs
The final designs for Look Park showcase a user-centric and visually appealing interface aimed at solving urban parking challenges. With a clean, minimalistic layout and a vibrant color palette, the app ensures both functionality and aesthetic appeal. Key features, such as real-time parking availability, secure booking, and QR code-based access, are seamlessly integrated to enhance usability. The intuitive flow guides users effortlessly from searching for parking spots to completing payments, prioritizing a smooth and efficient experience. These designs reflect a thoughtful balance between accessibility, modern design principles, and user needs, making the app an effective and engaging solution for city commuters.
future works
While the Look Park prototype laid the foundation for a seamless parking solution, there are several opportunities for further development and enhancements. Future work could focus on:
Integration of Advanced Features: Adding real-time parking availability updates through IoT sensors, predictive analytics for parking demand, and dynamic pricing based on peak hours.
Enhanced User Engagement: Incorporating features like loyalty rewards for regular users, personalized recommendations, and gamification elements to improve user retention and satisfaction.
Scalability: Expanding the app to cover additional cities and regions, adapting to local parking challenges and user needs.
Partnerships: Collaborating with government agencies and private parking operators to integrate more authorized parking spaces into the platform.
Sustainability Features: Promoting eco-friendly practices by highlighting parking spots near public transport hubs or offering incentives for reduced carbon footprint.
Accessibility Improvements: Ensuring the app is inclusive by adding multi-language support and features for users with disabilities.
By focusing on these areas, Look Park can evolve into a comprehensive, scalable, and inclusive solution for urban mobility, further enhancing its impact on commuters and city infrastructure.
