Before // After

One of the missteps I took in designing our 2016 app was to disclose ‘scary and official’ information too early in the experience. Words like “alarm” and “police”, overuse of the color red, and a numerical 10 second countdown all created a lot of unnecessary fear and anxiety. So, in an effort to course correct, we did a few things:

1️⃣ We now use (literally) less alarming language
2️⃣ In testing, we found that a visual countdown felt slower than a numerical countdown (in a good way!)
3️⃣ Censoring the display of our user’s PIN increased their comfort and discretion
4️⃣ Removing redundant shapes lightened up our keypad
5️⃣ Adding skip countdown functionality helped soothe users who were concerned about seconds wasted in a real emergency