Overview
Highway is an identity engine for the freight industry, primarily focusing on verifying the identity of motor carriers (truckers) for freight brokers. This helps combat fraud, which has significantly increased in the industry.
Problem
Highway addresses the issue of fraudulent carriers disappearing with freight and the lack of trust in the traditional freight marketplace (e.g., DAT, Truck Stop, which are compared to Craigslist). They have a robust web app, but need a mobile app to serve as a load board where only verified carriers and credit-approved brokers can interact. The goal is to create a high-quality, trusted marketplace, distinguishing itself from existing load boards by focusing on the quality of participants rather than just quantity.
Approach
While Highway serves brokers, the mobile app is specifically centered on carriers. The goal is to make the app attractive and easy to use for carriers to book loads on-the-go, so they can continue to earn by being on the road.
We conducted a light workshop to align with stakeholder on the Carrier persona, and drafted a journey map to further align on MVP feature set. We tackled one feature/flow a week, working closely with client stakeholders, product team, and engineering to create designs using app best practices.
Adding in Delight
Custom illustrations carry onboarding and the permission requests that follow. Craft at that moment signals quality, and quality earns confidence — a carrier is deciding whether to trust the app with their livelihood.
The splash animates truck headlights coming on softly in the dark, and the loading badge catches a glimmer off the truck’s hardware. Both hint at the heavy technology behind what can look like just driving.
Outcome
Mimicking the client’s startup mentality of build fast, iterate frequently, and push boundaries, our team completed the initial agreed-upon 6 core features, and pulled in 2 more MVP flows before the engagement ends, including phone-based driver tracking that’s highly valuable to brokers. We handed off final designs and code to an app developer we helped recruit, enabling the client to continue to build out the app.
Our primary stakeholder shared direct feedback on the engagement.
“While it’s too early to form a concrete assessment, overall performance seems to be in line with expectations. A standout is the thoughtfulness and capability demonstrated in design -- Jennifer Huang has shown a high degree of expertise in her work. We’re fortunate to have her on the project.”
