Smart Driving mobile app

A pay-per-mile insurance app that also provides valuable data to drivers.

94%

Stolen car return rate

4.7*

App Store rating

Challenge

A telematics-based car insurance app introduced real-time driving data to customers — but the existing interface confused users and created distrust.

Solution

Led UX design for Metromile’s usage-based insurance app, translating complex data into clear, human insights. Designed usage dashboards, alerts for mechanical problems and maintenance, and visual cues for driver confidence.

Impact

In addition to the metrics shown above, the redesigned app increased customer engagement and policy retention.

Role

Senior Product Designer

Contribution

Conducted ethnographic studies with users, collaborated with team to define key features and app requirements, designed core user flows, and led usability testing to validate new information models.

Collaborators

UX Designer, Visual Designer, Product Manager, VP of Product, CMO, CEO, Engineering, Data Science.

Timeline

1 year

RESEARCH & DESIGN

Identifying the Problem

Metromile engaged Swim Interaction Design Studio for our user-centered process when they initiated work on V2 of their mobile app.

We began by conducting ethnographic studies with current and prospective Metromile customers, in their homes and cars. By carefully sifting through hours of video footage, we identified key themes and shared preliminary findings with Metromile stakeholders. We further refined the findings through a quantitative study.

This user research served as the starting point for product definition sessions held by Swim and an interdisciplinary Metromile team. The collaborative team brainstormed application features, clustered them, and assessed their value by revisiting the field observations and considering technological capabilities.

Ideating Solutions

I created lo-fi wireframes and higher-fidelity clickable prototypes to visualize how the feature set could be delivered in a mobile app. Working closely with product development and the internal design team (who produced the final visuals), Swim defined both a long-term app strategy and the essential components that would comprise a near-term MVP.