Centrl

The 2007-2011 tech scene in New York City was an exciting time to be a hybrid UX/UI designer and front-end coder. One big driver of the era's innovation was the launch of the first-generation iPhone that sparked a stream of location-based applications and startups — including 'Centrl'.

In 2009, I joined their team of four as the lead designer. I partnered closely with the CEO and developers to create the visual identity, user interface, and art direction of Centrl's desktop & mobile presence. We launched a beta of the rebrand within three months to gain more user feedback and pitch for additional funding. Centrl had over 415,000 users across their network of web and mobile platforms.

Vision

Stay in touch with friends, and find money-saving offers and useful content on a layered map — all on one convenient network.

Problem statement

We are missing so much information around us every day, such as money-saving offers, our friends, events, concerts, and great restaurant reviews. As a user, I don't have a way to easily aggregate and access all of this data.

Business summary

Centrl enables users to keep in touch with friends, access money-saving offers via partnerships, and utilize all nearby location-based data — reviews, events, real estate, gas stations, parking spots — very effectively within one easy-to-use application for web, iPhone, Android and Blackberry. No registration is required. Centrl enhances users' lives by helping them save money, discover new places, stay in touch with friends, make new friends, and never miss anything important to them that is happening nearby.

Target audience

Mainstream market of social network users — Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Ning, Orkut, Friendster, Bebo.

Competitors

Google Latitude, Loopt, BrightKite, Whrrl

Competitive advantage

• Free with no SMS charges
• Easy to use with no registration; login from your existing social network
• All-in-one access to nearby location data
• Save money by personalizing the offers you get

Landing page

I designed & coded the UI of Centrl's landing page for potential partners, marketers, developers and app users. It allowed viewers to learn more about coupon advertising, API integration, privacy policies and available jobs at Centrl.

The leadership team gave me freedom in Centrl's art direction. My goal for the visual identity was to ensure it aligned with characteristics of the application and its users:

• "Friendly and approachable" with rounded corners and bright color tones
• "Youthful user base" with illustrative elements
• "Gender-neutrality" with a cool color palette and warm highlights

Desktop platform

Centrl wanted location-based data to be the focus of the user experience — hence a full-page interactive map. Key features of the desktop version included:

• Viewing different layers of mapped markers for nearby coupons, events, reviews, friends, and more
• Saving marked locations to return to later
• Messaging other users in public and private chat dialogs
• Adjusting personal settings

Mobile platforms

Centrl had a mobile presence across iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. At the time, this required creating UI assets unique to each platform. For the new iPhone, I incorporated its signature "chrome" aesthetic into Centrl's UI screens and iconography.

User profile

As a small startup, we were rapidly working to deliver a strong application release with a fresh interface. Amid the fast pace, I still had space to create multiple concepts of interfaces for internal review and external testing. Examples of this include profile pages for desktop users to view their recent activity, friends, saved locations, digital coupons, and more.