For eight transformative years at Powershop, I played a crucial role in shaping the brand, product, and user experiences, growing the company’s user base to over 160,000 customers across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. The Powershop product suite included a consumer-facing website, an administration portal, a mobile app, and services such as call centre and digital support. Our aim was to revolutionise the traditional utility model by empowering users with greater visibility and control over their energy consumption.

The energy industry was characterised by a lack of transparency and poor customer engagement. The challenge at Powershop was to create a cohesive, user-friendly platform that simplified energy management, making it an enjoyable and empowering experience. We needed to build solutions that provided customers with actionable insights into their energy usage, allowing them to make informed decisions and save money.

This meant transforming the entire customer journey, from their interactions with the consumer website and the first mobile energy app on the market to the support provided by customer support and call centre services.

To meet this challenge, I led a human-centered design approach, ensuring that customer needs informed every design decision. The key components of my approach included:

• User Research and Engagement: Extensive user research was conducted through interviews, usability testing, and feedback sessions to understand customer behaviours and pain points. These insights were vital in designing a solution that truly resonated with users.
• Iterative Design Process: I spearheaded an iterative design process, working closely with developers, product managers, and stakeholders. This collaboration ensured that designs were refined through ongoing prototyping and usability testing, which kept us aligned with user needs.
• Design Language System: To create a consistent and recognisable brand identity, I developed a design language system that was implemented across all touchpoints, enhancing usability and providing a cohesive experience.
• Engagement and Gamification: We introduced gamification elements such as consumption targets, rewards, and visualised energy data to engage users actively. This not only educated customers about their energy usage but also encouraged sustainable energy behaviours in a fun and interactive manner.

• Green Energy Billing in Australia: One of my notable accomplishments was designing and technically defining the process for billing “Green Energy” in Powershop Australia. This initiative enabled us to offer carbon-neutral energy services, aligning with our commitment to sustainability.
• Leadership and Team Development: I built and led a team of talented product designers and customer researchers. Through mentoring and coaching, I fostered a collaborative work environment that bridged design, product, and technical disciplines. This environment was key to delivering a consistent and high-quality user experience.
• Navigating a Complex Transition: During a multi-year technical overhaul, I guided the design team through a significant user experience transition. Despite the complexities of this major rewrite, we successfully maintained high levels of user satisfaction, a testament to our customer-focused approach.

The Powershop platform fundamentally changed how customers interacted with their energy consumption. Key outcomes included:

• Enhanced Customer Engagement: Customers became more involved in tracking their energy usage, leveraging the platform to make more informed choices.
• High Satisfaction Levels: The user-centric design resulted in significantly improved customer satisfaction compared to traditional energy companies.
• Industry Recognition: Powershop received multiple industry accolades for its innovation in customer experience, establishing itself as a leader in the energy sector.