2018 Winners

Winner of category:

Calm Harm

93% of Calm Harm users reported a reduction in their urge to self-harm.

In their submission, they told us that the user experience is being continually reviewed and updated based on feedback from app store reviews, direct contact and ongoing user groups, so we can only expect that number to rise.

The team behind Calm Harm have just received funding to deliver a sister app, and here at the UXUK Awards, we can’t wait to see the results.

Winner of category:

easyJet: Inspire Me

Inspire Me won the judges over by the way it completely reimagined and brought to life booking a holiday.

The original site was developed in 2013, and was in much need of a redesign. A focus on visual elements really brings the site to life and helped easyJet to connect with their target audience, and created a real aspirational feel to booking a journey. It also provides a fantastic mobile experience which was reflected in the stats.

Winner of category:

Calm Harm

Calm Harm was created by Dr Nihara Krause to help teenagers resist or manage the urge to self-harm, especially if they are unable or unwilling to access professional help. Calm Harm enables young people to understand the circumstances where they are most likely to want to cause harm to themselves.

The app is simple but effective. A true example of tech for good.

Winner of category:

Listening to Users and Changing Our Ways

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service not only created an improved user experience, but there was also a great story behind how they went about it. They adopted a user-focused approach to redesigning their site and made sure that everyone within the organisation was on board.

Despite having no agency help and a limited budget, they created a human-centric design that improved things for firefighters and other staff members by getting them to the content they need as quickly as possible.

Winner of category:

SmartShop with Mobile Pay

The aim of SmartShop was to reduce the queues at the till, allowing customers to scan as they shop, and then pay.

Not only did this project address a serious customer issue – Sainsbury’s research showed that queuing was the most frustrating part of their in-store shopping experience – it was done even though there were several challenges facing Sainsbury’s, from working across multiple different teams to merging the physical with the digital.

Winner of category:

Reporting a Breakdown

Reporting a Breakdown by The AA not only helped improve the experience for their users – allowing them to request assistance via digital channels rather than the telephone – it also helped streamline and improve the experience for their employees, freeing up their time to focus on the cases where a caller may be in danger.

Using methodologies such as interviews, call listening, ethnographic field studies and usability lab studies, The AA was able to create an efficient breakdown service that their members could use and trust.

Winner of category:

SmartShop with Mobile Pay

It’s great to see organisations as big as Sainsbury’s listening to their users and trying to improve the experience they provide – rather than innovating for the sake of it, or worse, becoming complacent.

SmartShop is an exciting use of technology for the better. Are checkoutless shops the future? Watch this space!

Winner of category:

Trainline Price Prediction

Booking travel can often feel more difficult than it has to be – especially when it comes to working out when’s the most cost-effective time to book your ticket. That’s where Trainline Price Prediction comes in.

Trainline spent 2 years working on their Price Prediction tool – including multiple rounds of user testing – but all the user sees is a small widget that tells them whether the journey they’re looking at will rise in price or not, and by how much. Users can now make a much more informed decision when booking, and Trainline is the one helping them do it.

Winner of category:

BBC Kids Skill Navigation

So many voice experiences don’t live up to the hype – but BBC Kids Skill isn’t one of them.

The BBC demonstrated their understanding of the restrictions of this type of experience really well. The content was enjoyable and educational – but limited options and good error recovery ensured that users (children) wouldn’t be overwhelmed or confused.

Winner of category:

The Emoji Movie VR Experience

The Emoji Movie VR Experience used virtual reality to create an enjoyable experience for younger users who may not have used the technology before.

Although it wasn’t solving a business problem, the Emoji Movie had a great execution and was an enjoyable, game-based experience that used a relatively new technology to create an effective and truly immersive experience.

(The VR experience was much better than the movie, we promise!)

Winner of category:

Aer

The goal of Aer was to help inexperienced parents collect and understand data about their new baby, giving them peace of mind while their child was in infancy. The judges loved not only the goal of this app, but how well presented it was.