Carma - Peer to peer car rental app
Carma - Peer to peer car rental app
MY ROLE
MY ROLE
Product Design
Product Design
CLIENT
CLIENT
Self Commissioned Project
Self Commissioned Project
YEAR
YEAR
2020
2020
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Carma is a self-drive car rental moble app concept aimed at reshaping the urban mobility experience in India. The goal was to design a consistent affordable and efficient solution to rent a car on the go.
Carma is a self-drive car rental moble app concept aimed at reshaping the urban mobility experience in India. The goal was to design a consistent affordable and efficient solution to rent a car on the go.
Lightbox is a Mumbai based venture capital firm. They’re constantly on the look-out for the next big investment opportunity.
To manage the flow of potential deals, they use an internal insight and deal flow management app called the Lightbox Gallery.
In 2021, we set out to redesign the Lightbox Gallery app, with an aim to improve employee’s participation in voting for potential deals and also give them a cleaner & more intuitive way of accessing insights and managing their deal flows.
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
How could we do our bit as consumers to reduce the number of cars on the road, while providing an accessible, consistent, affordable and efficient solution to rent a car on the go ?
How could we do our bit as consumers to reduce the number of cars on the road, while providing an accessible, consistent, affordable and efficient solution to rent a car on the go ?
BREAKING DOWN THE PROBLEM
BREAKING DOWN THE PROBLEM
India is currently one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. We are also the world’s fifth largest automobile markets in terms of sale. That has a dark side, which is that the transportation sector in the country is the second largest contributor to air pollution in India.
India is currently one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. We are also the world’s fifth largest automobile markets in terms of sale. That has a dark side, which is that the transportation sector in the country is the second largest contributor to air pollution in India.
The air pollution caused by automobiles leads to over 1 million deaths per year in India.
The car rental ecosystem is inaccessible in tier 2-3 cities, and also current car rental services like Zoomcar, Myles and LetMeDrive face issues of being too expensive and some of them require high initial deposits to be used.
The air pollution caused by automobiles leads to over 1 million deaths per year in India.
The car rental ecosystem is inaccessible in tier 2-3 cities, and also current car rental services like Zoomcar, Myles and LetMeDrive face issues of being too expensive and some of them require high initial deposits to be used.
The air pollution caused by automobiles leads to over 1 million deaths per year in India.
The car rental ecosystem is inaccessible in tier 2-3 cities, and also current car rental services like Zoomcar, Myles and LetMeDrive face issues of being too expensive and not available close enough to people, forcing them to use other modes of transport to get to their vehicles.
Further, people that rent out the cars need to travel to a central location to pick cars up, which is often not feasible, at least not as feasible as having cars available to rent in your vicinity.
Further, people that rent out the cars need to travel to a central location to pick cars up, which is often not feasible, at least not as feasible as having cars available to rent in your vicinity.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
The car rental market is estimated to be worth INR 60 billion, and estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14-20% over the next 5 years.
The Indian car rental market is expected to be driven by factors such as increasing urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and growing tourism.
Instead of producing more cars, if the existing cars were used more effectively, it could contribute to the attempts to reduce the level of automobile related air pollution.
The car rental market is estimated to be worth INR 60 billion, and estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14-20% over the next 5 years.
The Indian car rental market is expected to be driven by factors such as increasing urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and growing tourism.
Instead of producing more cars, if the existing cars were used more effectively, it could contribute to the attempts to reduce the level of automobile related air pollution.
Carma is a peer to peer car rental app that prioritizes proximity, decentralisation and community based participation. Carma leverages a decentralized approach, making cars available in your vicinity.
Carma is a peer to peer car rental app that prioritizes proximity, decentralisation and community based participation. Carma leverages a decentralized approach, making cars available in your vicinity.
Some of the benefits of such a solution would be:
Some of the benefits of such a solution would be:
Geolocation-Based Car Availability
Carma uses real-time GPS data to identify available vehicles closest to the user's current location. This ensures that customers can find a car within walking distance, minimising the need for additional transportation to rental depots.
Carma uses real-time GPS data to identify available vehicles closest to the user's current location. This ensures that customers can find a car within walking distance, minimising the need for additional transportation to rental depots.
Optimized Vehicle Utilization
By utilizing peer-to-peer car sharing, Carma ensures that parked cars are put to productive use. This increases the efficiency of existing vehicles and reduces the need for manufacturing new cars, which has a substantial environmental impact.
By utilizing peer-to-peer car sharing, Carma ensures that parked cars are put to productive use. This increases the efficiency of existing vehicles and reduces the need for manufacturing new cars, which has a substantial environmental impact.
Reduced Car Ownership
Carma's decentralized approach to car rental encourages citizens to rely on shared vehicles rather than owning their own. Fewer vehicles on the road means reduced emissions, as each car in shared use can replace multiple individually-owned cars.
Signals had great sources of articles, but lacked an ability to search, sort and sift through a lot of information . Users missed a lot of news, and the app lacked the affordance to discuss and communicate about insights from Signals.
The Design Process
STYLE GUIDE
STYLE GUIDE
I used a bold colour palette and HK Grotesk was my typeface of choice. I used a 8 point soft baseline grid.
I used a bold colour palette and HK Grotesk was my typeface of choice. I used a 8 point soft baseline grid.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
The idea while designing the user flow was to make booking a rental car a smoother experience. I looked at the various paths the user might take on their journey and tried to understand what happens at each step.
The idea while designing the user flow was to make booking a rental car a smoother experience. I looked at the various paths the user might take on their journey and tried to understand what happens at each step.
Information Architecture visual
Information Architecture visual
WIREFRAMING
WIREFRAMING
Once I had mapped out the user flow, I rapidly prototyped the most important parts of the user's journey, from when users open the app with the aim of renting a car, right through till they've unlocked the car and started their trip.
These encapsulated the most important functions of the app, based on which I could spend time later designing more screens, features and content.
Once I had mapped out the user flow, I rapidly prototyped the most important parts of the user's journey, from when users open the app with the aim of renting a car, right through till they've unlocked the car and started their trip.
These encapsulated the most important functions of the app, based on which I could spend time later designing more screens, features and content.
Wireframes
Wireframes
Introducing Carma
Introducing Carma
Home Screen
Home Screen
As part of our revamp of the homescreen, we improved the hierarchy of sections on the screen, with most visual attention being claimed by the persistent voting indicator card. If there are no deals to vote for, the indicator card will redirect users to the leaderboard.
Part of the redesign included adding additional functionality, like the profile page & notification center on to the homescreen.
As part of our revamp of the homescreen, we improved the hierarchy of sections on the screen, with most visual attention being claimed by the persistent voting indicator card. If there are no deals to vote for, the indicator card will redirect users to the leaderboard.
Part of the redesign included adding additional functionality, like the profile page & notification center on to the homescreen.
Final Takeaways
Final Takeaways
The challenges a peer to peer car rental service might face are many, including lack of reliablility support as well as relying on the thoughtfulness of strangers to take care of someone else’s possessions, which (I cynically admit) might be a stretch.
This was an exploration in what could be possible, although a solution to a climate problem is only possible with participation the government and other key decision makers.
