I led the strategy and design of a digital marketplace for Fr8Hub where shippers and carriers could come together and benefit from an elevated experience that simplified all aspects of commercial shipping.
A component-based design system served as a robust foundation that seamlessly scaled across native and web app ecosystems while ensuring a consistent and cohesive user experience across desktop and mobile devices.
Anchoring Fr8Hub’s visual language was Calibre, a strong yet approachable typeface that created a powerful information hierarchy, and ensured that Fr8Hub’s identity was recognizable amongst its growing competition.
Throughout the design process I interviewed industry experts, created motion studies, and developed lightweight prototypes to validate workflows and prove out my UX decisions.
Fr8Hub's core audience were shippers and carriers.
Shippers are companies with goods to move. Their freight might be pallets of bottled water, frozen food, or car engines. Regardless, it needs to arrive at its destination without delay. Shippers are no strangers to digital tools, but were accustomed to finding drivers by posting individual shipments to load boards, antiquated platforms that buried opportunities through a lack of intelligent organization.
Carriers, or owner operators, are men and women driving the tractors (the front-end of a semi) needed to carry shipments. They are accustomed to browsing load boards, but are often forced to rely on third party brokers to find shipments to their desired destinations. Instead, utilizing mobile tools greatly increases their ability to efficiently find new jobs while on the road, as well as manage the logistics related to their current load.
From the moment a shipment is approved, its ongoing location and progress towards the intended destination are paramount. A map serves as the focal point of the experience, shaping all interactions around it. From a single location carriers can oversee their fleet, and shippers get real time updates of all loads in progress.
The Fr8Hub mobile app greeted returning drivers with a list of available loads that matched their preferences. Strong typographic hierarchy and a fluid grid and scaling methodology made details easy to consume, and drivers could preview the route on a map or choose to bid on the load directly from the landing screen.
Intuitive interface elements paved the way for bringing carriers and drivers onboard seamlessly. This was as simple as specifying their desired origin and destinations, indicating a qualified driver (which may be themselves), and adding certified tractors and trailers. Shipping lane preferences could be adjusted at any time, allowing carriers to adapt to market demand.
The Fr8Hub mobile app offered carriers all the functionality they needed to continue working while out on the road. They could post equipment with just a few simple steps, a task easily completed in seconds.
After carriers and drivers had enrolled their equipment on the platform they could bid on enticing opportunities by specifying their minimum price per mile. Their proposed bid was sent to the shipper for approval, and a match could be made.
Gesture-based interactions were used in intelligent ways to make the experience as instinctual and enjoyable as possible. A press and hold allowed carriers to preview a shipment, with the ability to bid shown front-and-center.
After connecting a shipper with a carrier, Fr8Hub’s platform managed all communication and document coordination necessary for proper pickup, transport, and drop off, including the bill of lading and important insurance information.
Throughout the life of the job all parties could connect via instant message, and the driver could update the shipper if there were any issues along the route. Shippers also had access to real-time location information for all of their open jobs.
Shipping was (and still is) is a telephone-based business, and with that comes miscommunication. For each and every load in progress Fr8Hub created a single channel for constant communication between all parties involved. Shippers could communicate with carriers, dispatch with their fleet of drivers, and Fr8Hub would automatically log every status change throughout the journey.
At the destination, Fr8Hub’s location services informed the shipper when their load had been delivered, and the Bill of Lading was confirmed by the receiver electronically.
It was immediately processed and drivers were paid in a matter of hours rather than days.Expediting reimbursement allowed carriers to operate their business without factoring, which promoted engagement with the platform and resulted in higher driver supply for shippers.
An informative marketing site was necessary to advise shippers and carriers of the advantages of the Fr8Hub platform and offer a glimpse of the product. An organized experience and bold design aesthetic catered to each user type and simplified messaging through the brand iconography and rich product visuals.
Just as Fr8Hub could be used on the go, so could the marketing site. A fully responsive design allowed for browsing and sign up from any device, anywhere. Lightweight pages optimized the experience for carriers on the road with limited cellular data while still delivering all necessary information to correctly communicate Fr8Hub's industry advantage.
Even the biggest skeptics couldn’t resist trying a platform that offered better wages for drivers without increased shipping costs.
For all user types the marketing site effortlessly guided them into the onboarding funnel, allowing a choice between immediate signup or valet assistance.
Fr8Hub had seen strong traction in its early stages as an increasing number of shippers and carriers returned to the platform after each successful load.
Constant iteration and testing made the product a joy to use, and promoted the importance of user experience to the success of the platform.