Reimagining Melbourne's public transport app around personalisation
A user-centred redesign of the PTV app, addressing navigation friction and information overload through research, iteration, and a new personalisation system.
Service
Role
Tools
The Problem
Information overload, no personalisation
The PTV app serves millions of Melbourne commuters daily, but user research revealed a consistent pattern, the app presents everyone with the same information-heavy experience regardless of what they actually need. Navigation friction, misleading labels, and an overwhelming number of nested screens made it harder to use than it needed to be.
The Audience
Who I'm designing for
I designed this for everyday Melbourne commuters, people who use public transport daily and just want to get from A to B without friction. From students checking tram times between classes to professionals planning their morning commute, the common thread was the same, they knew what they needed but the app made it harder than it should have been to find it.
Key Insights:
Unclear navigation: no clear icon or path to settings
Misleading labels: buttons labelled incorrectly causing confusion
Screens within screens: too many nested screens making features hard to discover
The Solution
A widget-based homepage
Imagine being able to personalise your PTV home screen to display exactly what matters most to you
A personalisation system for the PTV homepage. Inspired by how Apple and Android home screens work, the concept lets users choose what appears, preferred route, Myki balance, service alerts, or saved trips. Instead of navigating through multiple screens, users see exactly what matters to them the moment they open the app.
The outcome
A fully interactive prototype featuring a customisable homepage, a widget library covering key app features — journey planner, Myki balance, service alerts, and saved trips — and a redesigned navigation structure that reduces cognitive load and improves discoverability.
Key learnings
Research grounds the design
User research stops you designing for yourself instead of your actual users.
Consistency builds trust
Standardising UI elements across the app made the experience feel more cohesive and intentional.
Personalisation doesn't have to be complex
Giving users control over what they see can dramatically reduce friction without redesigning everything.
