Firefly

Overview

Imagine you are a student going home from the library. You open a navigation app and it suggests that you rush to catch the last train or walk through an alley to take a bus. It’s 11pm. What would you do?

This is not a hypothetical situation but a scenario faced by multiple female passengers daily. In fact, a lot of navigation apps tend to prioritize efficiency over the potential danger a user can face when using the suggested routes at night. While there are apps that warn users of areas to avoid, not many apps show where users can go to if they feel unsafe (especially at night).

To fill this gap, I created Firefly. It is a mobile navigation app that highlights places which are still in operation (e.g. restaurants, shops, and convenient stores). These places provide a bright and safe space for people to seek shelter or help. Users can also text and share their GPS location with people they trust, get reminders of their travel schedule, and switch between light and dark mode. With these functions, Firefly can provide a safety net for solo travelers, no matter day or night.

Problems

Late-night home-goers

Tourists/ Business travelers

Solutions

User research

Survey

To understand the goals and frustrations faced by users of navigation apps, I created a survey with 2 parts.

Part 1: Information useful to the users

Late-night home-goers

What types of information are essential to you when traveling home at night?

Tourists/ Business travelers

Which navigation tools are helpful to you when traveling to a foreign city/country?

Implications

• Users find: (1) public transport schedule, (2) virtual map, and (3) journey reminders/ notifications on the navigation app necessary.

• Users also want to call or text people they trust to let them look into the user’s immediate situation.These functions can make the user feel safe and connected.

But this is only what people who are in a distance can do at best. If we should provide better support and assistance to the user, we need to look into the potential danger the user may face and the potential shelters the user can use in their immediate physical location.

Part 2: Strategies for ensuring a safe and efficient journey

Late-night home-goers

When you feel unsafe (e.g. think you might be followed), what would you do?

Why did you choose this method?

Tourists/ Business travelers

Which navigation tools are helpful to you when traveling to a foreign city/country?

Why did you choose this method?

Implications

• For both groups, the go-to method to cope with danger is to find the nearest shop, restaurant, or convenient store and stay there. Another popular choice is to call or text people you trust or call the emergency number. The main reason is because busier places (e.g. stores, busier streets) are harder for stalker to locate/harm a target.

• For tourists/ business travelers, the time zone of the place they visit and the time zone of their home countries might differ drastically. Since their family and friends are so far from them, popping into the nearest shop/ restaurants make the most sense.

Personas

Based on the demographic info of my respondents, I created 2 personas.

Hannah Research student, 25 Lifestyle: She is a diligent research student. Most of her days, she works in the library until 10pm. Occasionally, she enjoys socializing with her friends at theatres and bars too. Frustrations: Some routes suggested by the navigation app include dark alleys. It’s not very practical following these suggestions at night. There was a time when I thought I was being followed. But I’m not familiar with that area and couldn’t find a safe place to make a call. The map is only available in light mode and it hurts my eyes to read it at night. Wishes: I wish I can choose to exclude alleys and quiet areas in my search of routes at night. I want the map to show places which are still open so that if I feel unsafe, I can stay there and make calls. I wish there is a night mode of the map. “Having a reliable navigation app is crucial to commuting safely at night.”

Ryan Business traveler, 36 Lifestyle: He is a manager who overlooks businesses in other countries for the company. In his free time, he also enjoys solo traveling and learns about different cultures as a local. Frustrations: In some business trips, I have meetings at different locations on the same day. The navigation app will not notify you of accidents/ delays in public transports and sometimes, I arrived almost late for meetings. When I travel for leisure, I tend to explore different places until late at night and sometimes, it is hard to find a restaurant which is still open nearby. When I use the map at night, I need a light filter. Wishes: I want to be notified of accidents on the road related to my journey and changes of schedule in public transport. I want to see the operating hours of places immediately from my search. I wish there is a night mode to the virtual map. “A navigation app can do more than just planning a journey. If developed well, it can work like a personal organizer or digital assistant.”

Competitive Analysis

To understand how to position Firefly in the market, I looked at the strengths and the limitations of two popular navigation apps (“Citymapper” and “Google Maps”) and two personal safety apps (“Save & the City” and “Circle of 6”).

	Citymapper	Google Maps	Safe & the City	Circle of 6
Can the user see reviews & warnings for different areas?
Can it locate the user's GPS?
Can the user send the GPS to others via the app?
Can it show the public transport schedule by a particular departing time?
Can it help the user plan a route?
Can the user receive reminders on the journey?
Can the map show places which are still open?

Implications

Navigation apps tend to prioritize efficiency over safety. But for someone traveling at night, this is not always the best option.

Quite a number of personal safety apps aim to warn the user to avoid “dangerous” areas. While this function may enhance the user’s safety, it could also be misused to incite racial prejudice.

When the user is alone on the street at night, it is more helpful to point out places which can provide a temporary “shelter”.

As a result, the map of Firefly will highlight “safe places” which are still open on the map. These include convenient stores, shops and restaurants as they have staff and security cameras in operation. This can prevent stalkers from approaching the user and thus, can provide a safe space for the user to stay and make calls if needed.

Sketches & Wireframes

Sketches

Wireframes

Light mode:

Dark mode:

User Testing of Wireframes

In the test, I asked participants to describe what they thought the pages were about and explained how to navigate to different pages.

What I've learned:

Planning a route V.S. Searching a location

What if the user just wants to look up the stores or restaurants nearby a hotel or a train station? Asking users to enter a starting point and a destination assumes they are planning a route. But it is not always the case. Sometimes, they just want to check the stores nearby a place.

BEFORE

AFTER

Revised version:The revised version allows users to look up a location before deciding to plan a route.

Mockups

Based on the revised wireframes, I created a mockup. Here are some of the pages:

User Testing of Mockups

What I've learned:

1. Minimize other items to maximize map coverage

Some users pointed out that there is too much information listed at the top navigation. The colored dots which are used for indicating different categories (e.g. shops, restaurants, convenient stores, etc.) require additional cognitive load from the user.

Instead of showing all those information, users want to see more of the map.

BEFORE

AFTER

Revised version: I moved the method of transportation and the steps to the floating buttons on the map. They are semi-transparent so that it is not entirely covering the screen. At the same time, the top section is less cluttered and the map can now take up more space on the screen.

2. Color contrast in dark mode

At first, I used #121212 as the background color (except for the map page) as it is a recommended dark mode base color for Material Design. However, it blends in with the status bar and the bottom navigation.

Also, the strong color contrast between the background and the words can make reading the screen tiring.

BEFORE

AFTER

Revised version: I adjusted the background color to a slightly lighter shade (#303030) so that the status bar and the bottom navigation are now separated from the content. The color contrast is not as strong as the previous one but it is still easy to read in dark environment.

What surprised me:

Dark mode V.S. Light mode

Some users find the mockup insufficient to demonstrate how this app is especially helpful to tourists/ business travelers. Apart from its journey planning function, the app does not seem to respond to all the problems listed above.

Revised version: In addition to the dark mode, I created a light mode which depicts the scenario of a traveler using the app to get notification reminders on the departing time for his journey.

Dark mode:

Light mode:

Branding

Name & Logo

This app is called “Firefly” because our map highlights places which are open using colored dots. When viewed in dark mode, these dots are like fireflies, or stars, in the dark :)

To illustrate this idea, I used two "F"s (which stand for "Firefly"), flipped one vertically and horizontally so that together, they look like roads on a map. The two dots resemble stores that are open.

Launch animation

To create dynamics for the logo, I created a launch animation:

Colors

The colors I chose are primarily dark grey, yellow, and greyish white. These colors blend in well with both the dark mode and the light mode.

Typography

For the brand type, I chose Raleway. The rounded nature of the type complements the dots and round buttons on the map. It is only used in the brand name. All other text are in Roboto as it is a standard Material Design font. When reading the screen in dark mode, it is best to have a font which is highly legible and familar.

Interactive Prototype

User: Late-night home-goer

1. Switch to dark mode The user can switch to dark mode when using the map in dark environment.

2. Planning a route Places which are open (as shown in colored dots) are updated according to the route.

3. Broadcasting one's live GPS location Users can share one's live GPS location (together with an optional message) to people they trust.

4. Texting Users can send text messages and can quickly switch to sharing their location via the "Broadcast" button.

User: Tourists/ Business Travelers

1. Planning a route Places which are open (as shown in colored dots) are updated according to the method of travel and the time of the day.

2. Setting notification reminders Users can set notification reminders on when to leave in order to arrive at the destination on time.

3. Switch between mode Finally, users can switch to dark mode whenever they like.

To learn more, click on the prototypes below:

Reflection

As a person who enjoys traveling (and occasionally, solo traveling), I sometimes worried that it is unsafe to explore a city at night. In fact, such concerns also occur among late-night home-goers.

When facing danger at night, knowing where you can stay safely (even for just a while) is crucial. That's why I was eager to create an app that can solve these problems, and potentially, fill the gap in the current navigation app market. Together with notification reminders, this app is meant to help both solo travelers and late-night home-goers.

If I had time, I would combine "Call" and "Text" into a "Contact" button to save space for a "Record" button. In case the user is being followed, recording the situation (and streaming it people the user trust) may fear the stalker away. Visual evidence can also help identify the stalker.