A wifi system product for remote area populations, to minimise the struggle that people experience from adjusting to the lifestyle which previously relied on modern convenience brought by stable internet connection and electricity.
Fini
Skills
Design research
User personas
Competitive Analysis
Concept Ideation
Wireframes
Userflow Design
UX Design
Prototyping
Timeline
5 weeks
(Apr-May 2022)
Tools
Figma
Fusion 360
Team
Myself,
Jasmine Sun
GIVEN SCenario: Rural Migration
Doug and Lisa have lived in the Upper West Side of New York City for twenty years. Their two kids have just left for college so they have decided to live full-time in the vacation cabin they purchased near Woodstock. Since the location is quite rural, safety is a big concern for each of them.
Problem
Rural neighbourhoods struggle to have the privilege of modern conveniences.
Far more limited Internet and cell phone options and more downtime.
Electricity may be supplied by a smaller, local company, so it is worth having backups: generator, or wood-burning stove to address volatile supply.
Introducing Fini
Fast and bright wherever you are.
A wifi system for rural environments with easy setup without requiring an app. The beacons function as lighting for a house as well and could be used as a flashlight during a blackout.
How might we make people from urban area enjoy modern conveniences that they had in city in new environment/rural neighbourhood?
Process
An insightful approach to address the needs and the given rural environment.
Persona: Meet Doug and Lisa
Doug and Lisa’s needs are
Modern conveniences in a rural environment
Have a better wifi connection in their cabin.
Stable power connection to use electronic devices and appliances
Safety matters
Living in a remote area implies limited public services.
Wild weather would be a threat to them.
Narrowing in on the key concern: Ideas, IDEAS, IDEAS
Improving internet reliability was a key concern as it matters with their everyday life which they are accustomed to the life with reliable internet and modern products.
Wifi System
A wifi system covers the whole house, which has units that could be used as flashlight, speaker, along with wifi router.
Home Security
Locks and Protection against wildlife and bad weather.
Lighting
Lighting for personal mood but also provide light during blackout.
Then we researched on current challenges faced by the residents in remote areas and here are some key findings.
Electricity may be supplied by a smaller, local company, worth having back-ups: generator, or wood-burning stove
Far more limited Internet and cell phone options and more downtime.
Lack of fast or reliable connection for work, school, and tele-health.
Limited selection on internet
We conducted competitive research on existing products to see how they address the rural neighbourhoods…
We researched on products that utilises internet connection:
Philips Hue, Ikea Symfonisk speaker
Providing wifi over house:
Wifi Mesh System(eero), mobile router
These competitors heavily rely on internet connection
Some manufacturers require an app to set up the device. (eg. eero mesh wifi, Ikea wifi speaker)
Dedicated apps are preferred and provided by manufacturers/service providers.
Brainstorming solutions: form
We discussed the form as the product could serve its role as a functional furniture or appliance which matches with target audience's preference.
Furniture provides additional function to be used as a furniture while providing internet connection.
Standalone product would be a set of beacons spread out in the house and function as a lighting for house for everyday usage.
Then we narrowed down the ideas
While function matters, size was a key factor in the target audience’s purchase criteria.
Also, the concern about having a physical wired power supply impacted the product to be standalone and have a self-sufficient power supply: solar charging.
“How the product address the power supply and physical limitation?”
Consider solar panels and charging method.
“How the product is going to function?”
Main unit will be placed in living room, which will be the hub to override the beacons in other rooms.
Fini
Fast and bright wherever you are.
These are the key features of Fini to address rural neighbourhood lifestyle.
Setup wifi system without the required process of being online or using apps
Plug devices and physical buttons and switches to turn on and set up the network.
Simple Set up
Lifesaver Beacons
Hybrid features to adapt to remote areas.
A beacon would function as a wifi router, while it can transform into a flashlight and portable battery to charge phones.
The system could also send out emergency calls to local fire and police departments in wild weather conditions or health issues.
Personalise your space
Light up your cabin with fini
Users can adjust the colours of lighting to make their rooms more personal.
Manage products within the app
Few touches to control Fini products
A mobile app offers users to customise their products without wandering around the house to search individual devices.
.
Designing For the Rural Environment
initial installation procedure for users Matters.
Setup the system without app requirement
I offered an alternative method of having a physical guide to assist users to set up the wifi system as current systems require an internet connection during installation or the instructions without the internet are often complex.
Wireframes and Moodboard
While designing the setup process for fini, we learned that every competitor has a dedicated app that offers users convenience to control.
We wanted the aesthetics to be organic and earthy as it resembles to the visual representation of a vacation home and nature, which is show in the moodboard.
Moodboard
UI inspiration: eero wifi app
Internal Assessment via A/B testing
As we designed screens, we compared user interface layouts to provide a better display for an overview of the wifi system for users (we chose the screen on the left for the final design).
Key Screen Designs
Prototypes
Takeaway
We received the highest investment among 5 teams
Investors were favourable to the concept of using solar energy.
The fun; having a personal mood was people’s favourite feature as they can express their personality and have fun with dynamic mood lighting.
People were surprised that some of the mesh wifi products require a phone connection for initial setup, which I was surprised as well.
People were curious about how the product would work in the real environment.
Possible Business Opportunity…
Our research on internet services for remote area brought us to consider the additional service of internet service to pair up with the wifi system to create a synergy. I did a brief research on the options of internet service providers for rural area, and we found that it could be our future expansion plan to consider in the future.
Be an Internet Service Provider or cooperate with existing service provider
Monthly plan for internet and devices.