Happy Oyster

Happy Oyster is the mobile app that helps Londoners save money on tube journeys, travel smarter and hassle-free

2013

Research, Design & Motion

An iPhone app for Londoners

Happy Oyster is an app my good friend and talented iOS Developer Manuel de la Mata and I came up with. Just before contactless cards became the new cool and Oyster cards balance and season passes were a pain to keep track of. We researched the market and the need for the product and tackled a problem that we and all Londoners had.

Onboard with illustrations

Keeping track of travelcard balance and season pass expiring dates is a hassle. It was a problem we faced ourselves. We saw illustrations as a way to bring life to the app and turn something boring into a delightful experience and get new users acquainted with the product.

Two ways feedback

We faced a lot of limitations to build this app as even though TLF had a public API, it was very limited. On one hand, we tackled error states with special care. Below is an example of no internet connection error. We helped the user get comfortable by setting expectations for what's happening and still gave them a hint of their latest cached balance. On the other hand, we started really simple and encouraged the user to tell us what they would like the app to offer so we could prioritise the next features.

Bring it to life

To connect the user to the reality behind the data I've designed and animated a UI character which visually translates what fare the user will be charged when they open the app.

Off-Peak train fare

Peak train fare

- @2018