hailo

Designing an app that lets people with impaired vision hail their own bus

hailo

Designing an app that lets people with impaired vision hail their own bus

hailo

Designing an app that lets people with impaired vision hail their own bus

Hailo is an Australian accessible transport startup founded by Santiago Velasquez, a blind engineer who was tired of buses passing him at the stop. The app lets passengers of all abilities hail a bus from their phone in real time, so the driver knows exactly where and when to stop.

Hailo runs on Melbourne's Ventura bus network. My role was to take the product direction and shape it into an app that felt trustworthy, accessible and easy to use for everyone.

My Role

Iterative Wireframing
Visual Design
Design Systems

Team & duration

2 designers
9 week sprint

when

2023-24

Methods

Feature prioritisation
Visual design

Deliverables

Hi-fi App Prototype
Design System
Wireframes

Tools

Figma

Hailo is an Australian accessible transport startup founded by Santiago Velasquez, a blind engineer who was tired of buses passing him at the stop. The app lets passengers of all abilities hail a bus from their phone in real time, so the driver knows exactly where and when to stop.

Hailo runs on Melbourne's Ventura bus network. My role was to take the product direction and shape it into an app that felt trustworthy, accessible and easy to use for everyone.

My Role

Iterative Wireframing
Visual Design
Design Systems

Team & duration

2 designers
9 week sprint

when

2023-24

Methods

Feature prioritisation
Visual design

Deliverables

Hi-fi App Prototype
Design System
Wireframes

Tools

Figma

Hailo is an Australian accessible transport startup founded by Santiago Velasquez, a blind engineer who was tired of buses passing him at the stop. The app lets passengers of all abilities hail a bus from their phone in real time, so the driver knows exactly where and when to stop.

Hailo runs on Melbourne's Ventura bus network. My role was to take the product direction and shape it into an app that felt trustworthy, accessible and easy to use for everyone.

My Role

Iterative Wireframing
Visual Design
Design Systems

Team & duration

2 designers
9 week sprint

when

2023-24

Methods

Feature prioritisation
Visual design

Deliverables

Hi-fi App Prototype
Design System
Wireframes

Tools

Figma

Understanding the Challenge

Hailing a bus is straightforward if you can see it coming. If you can't, the same trip becomes a run of unknowns. Is this the right stop, is that my route, will the driver see me waiting.

The wider problem sits between systems rather than inside any one of them. Ticketing, apps, signage and announcements each cover part of a journey, and the gaps between them are where riders get stranded. Hailo set out to close one of those gaps, and it had to feel dependable while doing it.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

1

Onboarding that works under pressure

People often sign up at the stop, in a hurry. The flow had to be quick to complete, easy to hear as well as read, and clear about what it asks for and why.

2

A hail you can trust

Hailing is the most important action in the app. The button and its feedback had to leave no doubt that the request had gone through.

3

Accessibility built in, not added on

Contrast, type size, touch targets and reading order needed to be part of the base design rather than a later pass over finished screens.

4

A platform that couldn't scale

The existing third-party app couldn't support Evie's upcoming product launches: memberships, fleet accounts, subscriptions, Tap & Go, and multi-user accounts.

4

A map that works without sight

Icons, routes and vehicle status had to be legible on screen and make sense when read aloud.

5

A way for riders to be heard

Riders needed a simple way to give feedback and report problems, so a young product could keep learning from real use.

6

Settings that are easy to change

Account details and access requirements had to be editable in a couple of taps, including choosing more than one access need.

IDEATION

We explored how to make hailing a bus feel as reliable as pressing a doorbell

Every decision was tested against the same question. Does this make sense to someone using VoiceOver, someone glancing at their screen for two seconds, and someone standing at a stop in the rain.

Hailo also shouldn't feel like a specialist tool. The things that help someone with low vision, like clear confirmation states and legible information, tend to make the app better for everyone. So we explored ideas with broad appeal, such as saved stops and favourite routes, so the app could earn a place in a daily routine rather than being opened only in a pinch.

IDEATION

We explored how to make hailing a bus feel as reliable as pressing a doorbell

Every decision was tested against the same question. Does this make sense to someone using VoiceOver, someone glancing at their screen for two seconds, and someone standing at a stop in the rain.

Hailo also shouldn't feel like a specialist tool. The things that help someone with low vision, like clear confirmation states and legible information, tend to make the app better for everyone. So we explored ideas with broad appeal, such as saved stops and favourite routes, so the app could earn a place in a daily routine rather than being opened only in a pinch.

The design

Onboarding people in a hurry

A quick sign-in, a short walkthrough of the core features, and accessibility and trip preferences that are easy to find again later.

The design

Onboarding people in a hurry

A quick sign-in, a short walkthrough of the core features, and accessibility and trip preferences that are easy to find again later.

A map built for more than sight

The map sits alongside a list view that toggles between nearby stops and saved routes and stops. Stops served by a hail-enabled route are grouped at the top of the list, so the option people came for is the first thing they reach.

The design

A map built for more than sight

The map sits alongside a list view that toggles between nearby stops and saved routes and stops. Stops served by a hail-enabled route are grouped at the top of the list, so the option people came for is the first thing they reach.

A hail button you can trust

We refined the button's shape, colour and feedback so a successful hail is unmistakable, adding haptic and audio options alongside the visual state change.

A hail button you can trust

We refined the button's shape, colour and feedback so a successful hail is unmistakable, adding haptic and audio options alongside the visual state change.

Staying confident once you're on board

Once a rider boards, the question changes from "will the bus stop for me" to "will I know when to get off". A persistent in-route view shows the live stop list with how many stops remain and how long is left, so riders can follow their progress without watching the window. As the destination approaches, the view switches to a clear alert to get off at the next stop, then hands over to short walking directions for the last stretch.

Staying confident once you're on board

Once a rider boards, the question changes from "will the bus stop for me" to "will I know when to get off". A persistent in-route view shows the live stop list with how many stops remain and how long is left, so riders can follow their progress without watching the window. As the destination approaches, the view switches to a clear alert to get off at the next stop, then hands over to short walking directions for the last stretch.

A system built to scale

Underneath every screen sits a component library that holds the product together. Each transport mode has its own colour and icon, used the same way across maps, stop lists and settings, so a bus, train or ferry always reads the same. Hail states, route cards and stop rows were built as reusable components, which made new screens quick to design and kept the app consistent as it grew.

A system built to scale

Underneath every screen sits a component library that holds the product together. Each transport mode has its own colour and icon, used the same way across maps, stop lists and settings, so a bus, train or ferry always reads the same. Hail states, route cards and stop rows were built as reusable components, which made new screens quick to design and kept the app consistent as it grew.

A system built to scale

Underneath every screen sits a component library that holds the product together. Each transport mode has its own colour and icon, used the same way across maps, stop lists and settings, so a bus, train or ferry always reads the same. Hail states, route cards and stop rows were built as reusable components, which made new screens quick to design and kept the app consistent as it grew.

Summary

Hailo asked for more than usability. It asked for trust, in a situation where a missed signal has real consequences. The work ran from research synthesis through iterative wireframing to a hi-fi prototype and a design system built to scale.

Hailo is now live on the App Store, running on Melbourne's Ventura network.

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