City Pulse

Project Overview

Metro Lab is a civic-tech company building tools that help citizens engage with local infrastructure and city planning data. Their flagship app, City Pulse, provides real-time updates on public transport, urban development projects, and environmental metrics. Although the app had strong adoption among early users, feedback indicated that the interface felt outdated and unintuitive, especially for a younger audience used to modern digital experiences. Additionally, Metro Lab’s brand presence lacked cohesion, with visuals and tone varying across channels.

We were invited to overhaul both the app’s user interface and Metro Lab’s brand identity—bringing clarity, approachability, and continuity to the way users interact with their platform and perceive the brand at large.

Objective

The project aimed to elevate Metro Lab’s credibility and usability by delivering a modernized interface and a refined brand identity that could scale across product, marketing, and community engagement. We needed to create a digital experience that felt efficient, familiar, and inspiring to use—one that encouraged users to check the app daily, explore public data, and even participate in civic feedback programs. The visual language also needed to feel grounded in trust and transparency while appealing to tech-savvy urban dwellers. A unified system would allow Metro Lab to communicate more effectively with the public, stakeholders, and partner municipalities, ensuring that their mission of open, accessible urban data reached the right people in the right way.

Scope of Work

Our collaboration with Metro Lab covered every major touchpoint:

• User Interface Design
  We redesigned the app's architecture to reduce friction, improve information hierarchy, and streamline interactions for quick access to transit and environmental updates.

• Brand Identity Refresh
  We introduced a new logo, color palette, and typography system built around clarity, confidence, and forward-thinking energy.

• Microinteractions & Motion
  We crafted lightweight animations to provide subtle guidance throughout the app experience, enhancing usability and delight.

• Component Library
  A Figma-based component system was delivered for internal developers, enabling consistency across future features and platforms.

• Launch Assets & Guidelines
  A full visual guideline document was created, alongside social launch materials to announce the update to the community.