DUOLABS
Work

Navigation app upgrade

We developed a major update to a navigation app that a navigation software company ran as its own product. Building on experience from the app's first version and its tablet version, we raised the features and the polish of the screens across the board while keeping the existing structure. The screens are read while driving, so a small defect or a hard-to-read display hurts the experience right away. We designed the screen elements ourselves, such as the map, guidance, buttons, and status indicators, and supported smartphones and tablets together.

Launch
2013
Client
A navigation software company
Type
Vehicle & Navigation
01 / 04

A major update that kept the structure and raised the polish

The navigation app's major update was a full overhaul of the features and screens of an app people were already using. Drawing on experience from building the app's first version and tablet version, we kept the existing structure and focused on raising the user experience and screen quality. Because the app was being improved rather than rebuilt, every screen change came with a check that existing features still worked as before.

A major update that kept the structure and raised the polish
02 / 04

Map, guidance, and buttons that read at a glance while driving

We designed and implemented the screen elements a navigation app needs, such as the map, route guidance, buttons, and status indicators. Drivers cannot look at the screen for long, so the screens were built around being easy to read and easy to operate. Elements that the standard screen components could not express were made from scratch.

Map, guidance, and buttons that read at a glance while driving
03 / 04

Route finding that follows the same steps on smartphones and tablets

The navigation app update supported smartphones and tablets together. The two kinds of device differ in resolution and shape, so the layout had to be set differently for each. The layouts differ, but the flow of finding a destination and following guidance stays the same on every device.

Route finding that follows the same steps on smartphones and tablets
04 / 04

Exception checks for a service where small defects spread far

Navigation is a service where small defects spread into the whole experience. Drawing on what we had learned building earlier versions of the same app, feature stability and exceptional cases were checked one by one. Verification and stabilization got as much time as adding new features.

Exception checks for a service where small defects spread far

Highlights

01

A major update that overhauled features and screens while keeping the existing structure

02

Map, guidance, and button elements that stay readable and tappable while driving

03

The same flow on smartphones and tablets, with exception checks and stabilization

Insights

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