With 85% of US adults owning and using smartphones, we are rapidly replacing physical information with digital counterparts.
Credit cards, concert tickets, vaccination records, etc. are moving from our wallets to our phones, but Digital IDs have not yet been widely accepted.
Tennessee ID explores how a Digital ID can provide greater convenience, efficiency, pride, and security for Tennessee residents. Being 1 of 4 states where a digital ID is currently under legislative review, Tennessee has no active digital ID solution.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Solo Project
Timeline
January – February 2024
Skills
Research, Prototyping, UI/UX, Interactive Design
Tools
Figma
View Process Document | 27.6 MB
What are the drawbacks of a physical ID?
Efficiency
Government IDs are difficult to read and scan quickly due to their poor information hierarchy, as well as limited space constraints with a lot of information to include.
With a Digital ID, the greater capabilities of the digital space can be utilized for a more dynamic information display, with an easily scannable layout, hierarchy, and content arrangement.
Pride
While Physical IDs are relatively uninteresting and uninspiring, Digital IDs have the potential to connect and resonate with users, increasing the pride they can have in their state through delightful illustration, micro-interactions, and purposefully state-specific designs.
Security
Physical IDs are easy to lose, and show all of the user’s potentially sensitive information at once to a viewer. Digital IDs have the potential to separate information out so that the user has control over what they choose to share with others.
Goals
The main goal of Tennessee ID is to turn a poorly designed piece of plastic into a digital point of pride, creating a digital twin to Tennessee’s physical driver’s identification. Information should be arranged logically, easy to scan, and able to adjust depending on user information.
Additionally, Tennessee ID aims to reflect the spirit of the state, inspiring nostalgia and pride in users while they use the app. Rather than being just another thing to carry around, the experience of the ID can become more unique, efficient, and enjoyable.
Research
Tennessee's Physical ID
What works
• Inclusion of Tennessee landmarks for a sense of state pride and recognition
What could be improved
• The Tennessee physical ID is difficult to scan quickly, as information is cramped and hard to distinguish
• A lot of it is confusing to the average user, and some information is repeated twice on both the front and back
Competitive Analysis
What Digital ID solutions exist right now? What can I learn from them?
Louisiana Wallet
What works
• Navigation is user-friendly with clear icons and text labels
• Clear connection between physical ID
What could be improved
• Replicates design of the physical ID in the digital space rather than
transforming the experience
• Colors are rather overwhelming
• The app UI feels slightly outdated
Apple Wallet
What works
• Illustration representing each state is prideful and inviting
• Clean, modern typography
• Integration with native device is convenient, as users don’t need to download a separate app
What could be improved
• ID content is still presented in a way that mimics the physical ID, it could be optimized better
Sketches
Quick initial sketches using pen and paper. The ID includes a full, age, and scan view, each featuring different key information to ensure the user has a choice over what they choose to share with others.
Representing Tennessee
Tennessee ID is inspired by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a significant visual representation of the state, a point of pride for most state residents.
Additional inspiration came from the Tristar symbol of Tennessee’s state flag, and the graphical style from the Anderson design group’s national park posters, which have a strong presence in the state.
Wireframes
Splash Screen, Full ID, Age ID, and QR Scan views of the ID. Laying out a typographic and hierarchical structure to build from.
