For the 2013 International Design Biennial in Saint-Etienne, af83 had designed and developed for the R&D department of an interactive device to present in an educational manner the complex concept of Energy Mix. The “Smart Electric Lyon” showroom has since used a duplicate to introduce how the electric network works and the future energy stakes. They needed to offer their visitors an incarnation of the Smart Electric Lyon solutions, through the interactive pawn of a connected city.

CHALLENGES

The main objective was to integrate the new pawn and the linked scenario, but other ones were to improve some parts of the experience (information visibility and readability, a stable and smooth behavior for the new pawn...) and opening the way to future scenarios such as electric vehicles. We had to:

• Meet tight deadlines thanks to an agile approach organized around one-week sprints and weekly meetings to assess and prioritize the developments
• Guarantee a smooth experience despite more complex scenarios, so the visitor can interact with the device without needing assistance
• Work closely in a multidisciplinary team to achieve several parallel tasks: redesigning the interaction and user experience, reworking the graphic design, implementing new data and rules, integrating new pawns, with the linked graphic elements and behaviors

RESULTS

Our team carried out the project in collaboration with the designers and researchers of EDF R&D department. Adding a new step in the experience scenario allowed us to meet the Smart Electric Lyon request and optimize the experience, while making it possible to add consistently other scenarios in the future.

Thanks to our in-depth work on data visualization (information structure, graphic design, animation, detailed display control), EDF R&D now has at his disposal an innovative educational device to spread its message to different audiences: manufacturers, partners, students and to the general public.