2023
Remote Workers’ App (Ceres)
Ceres is a mobile app concept designed to help remote workers discover and evaluate cafes suitable for productive work outside the home - exploring how digital experiences could better support the growing culture of cafe working across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The rise of remote and hybrid work has created a growing "cafe work culture" - but existing discovery platforms don't communicate the nuanced factors that actually make a cafe work well. Noise levels, seating availability, power access, wifi quality, social expectations - these things matter, and they're nowhere to be found on Google Maps. Beyond practicalities, remote workers also described wanting cafes to feel welcoming and socially aligned with their presence as working customers.
The BRIEF
How might we help remote workers quickly identify cafes that meet both their practical needs and their social expectations around comfort, belonging, and etiquette?
The Approach
A human-centred design approach grounded in qualitative user research, iterative prototyping, and usability testing.
I began with desk research, observational research, and semi-structured interviews with remote workers to understand the behavioural patterns, motivations, and emotional experiences behind cafe work culture. Insights were synthesised through affinity mapping and thematic analysis, then translated into low-, mid-, and high-fidelity prototypes in Figma - continuously refined through usability testing.
The REFRAME
The problem wasn't just about finding a cafe. It was about finding a place to belong.
Early research pointed toward a functional problem - people couldn't find cafes with the right amenities. But what emerged from interviews was something more nuanced. Remote workers weren't just looking for wifi and a power point. They were looking for a sense of belonging, social permission to be there, and an environment that matched how they wanted to feel while they worked. That reframe shifted the design challenge from discovery to experience - and from functionality to community.
The Solution
A mobile app experience that helped remote workers discover, evaluate, and navigate cafes through community-informed insights, environmental transparency, and human-centred interaction design.
Ceres combined practical discovery tools with the social and experiential considerations existing platforms overlook. Key features included a searchable cafe directory, live seating and capacity indicators, amenities filtering, etiquette guidance, and cafe-specific notifications. The visual language was intentionally designed to feel productive yet welcoming - balancing functional clarity with a relaxed, community-oriented atmosphere. Accessibility considerations including colour contrast and colour-blind safe palettes were integrated throughout.
The Impact
The project demonstrated how human-centred design and behavioural research can support emerging work cultures through more socially aware and context-sensitive digital experiences.
Ceres reframed cafe discovery beyond location-based search by recognising the emotional, social, and behavioural dimensions of remote work environments. It reinforced how thoughtful UX design can foster both productivity and belonging within shared public spaces - and deepened my practice across end-to-end product design, qualitative research, usability testing, and accessibility.