GOOGLE MAPS PLUS CODES
From opportunity development to concept to launch to iteration, I led UX and UI design for Google Maps Plus Codes. Plus Codes serve as street addresses for people or places that don’t have one. Instead of addresses with street names and numbers, Plus Codes are based on latitude and longitude, and displayed as numbers and letters. The technology to generate Plus Codes is also open source, so anyone can see how the technology works and develop their own applications for any use case. I partnered with product, engineering, research, ops, data and marketing teams to translate insights into design flows and UI components for easy access and quick shareability. The launch and iterations of Plus Codes have resulted in hundreds of millions of communities and businesses receiving easier access to deliveries, social services, and emergency response–including vaccine access amid the COVID-19 crisis. Featured in CNBC and Business Insider.
ROLE
• UX and UI Design Lead - Driving strategy through execution
• Brand and Visual Design
• Conducted & Participated in Field Research
To find your six-digit Plus Code from your current location, an entry point was created directly from the blue dot on the map. This was designed to minimize additional screens and complicated flows, and instead, coincide with the natural flow of relying on the blue dot as the leading indicator of your current location.
Using a Plus Code and copying it to share with someone was designed to match the same experience as street addresses to minimize confusion and enhance inclusion.
To set your home address with a Plus Code, a clear entry point from the homescreen–along with a flow that combines satellite map imagery, illustration, and concise text–was designed to guide the user through a highly-technical process in a friendly and accessible way.
To add a missing place to Google Maps, a user can quickly drop a pin to the map, leverage satellite imagery to confirm for accuracy, and submit the place data to Google Maps. After submitting, content moderation and engineering teams initate a vertification process.