Design the digital layer of an entire smart city.
Chorus Life and Microsoft aimed to build a full smart district outside Milan. Our brief was the strategy and UX for the product people would actually use: one app that ties city services together.
Understanding the city before designing the app.
We started by mapping spaces, districts, and the tech that makes services possible. You can’t design the app well if you don’t understand the physical layer it sits on.
From city spaces to human scenarios.
Once spaces and tech were clear, we ran working sessions with stakeholders to list what people might actually do in the district. Chorus Life’s personas were our starting point; we pushed them into concrete scenarios so we could see how people, services, and places connect.
Creating order across 10+ services.
With backlog and constraints agreed, we shaped the app’s IA and first flows so ten-plus services could live in one place without fighting each other. We worked in three-week sprints, always about two ahead of dev, and checked in with stakeholders as we went.
A visual system built in symbiosis with the rebrand.
In order to facilitate handoff with the Microsoft development team, speed up and standardize design operations, and maintain stylistic consistency between the app and other Chorus Life touch points, we structured a library. The design library was developed in parallel with the app, in symbiosis with a second team that dealt with the Chorus Life rebranding.
Transitions that reinforce relationships between elements.
The motion system is a set of patterns for transitioning between components or full-screen views. The patterns are designed to help users navigate and understand an app by reinforcing relationships between UI elements.
Applying the visual language to every screen.
After finishing the branding phase and building the design library, we applied the styles and visual language to the previously designed screens. During this phase we also iterated on some interactions and contents in order to get the best possible result and meet our client's requirements.
