Bryton Rider Series

Consumer Electronic - GPS Cycling Computer

About Product Line "Rider Series"

The Bryton "Rider Series" is centered around the Smart Bike Computer, with the Rider 750 being a game-changer for Bryton in 2019. It marked the first complete product cycle, offering a competitive feature set, successful pricing strategies, and the brand's first global marketing campaign. These initiatives significantly boosted Bryton's revenue from 2021 to 2022 and paved the way for a potential listing on the stock market.

Following the success of Rider 750, Bryton expanded its product line, introducing two high-end smart bike computers under the S series: Rider S500 and S800. These models mainly differ in screen size and display features. This year, Bryton also launched Rider 750 SE, targeting the biking enthusiast market.

Background

Initially, our development processes were quite not align to the industry's standard procedures. Prior to the release of Rider 750 in 2019, software interfaces and functions were handled directly by the software engineering department.

During the early days of the brand, the focus was on low-end, feature-limited models, which worked reasonably well. However, when transitioning to advanced touch devices, issues started to emerge. At that time, I was the role of product marketing, but also with curiosity for product interface design. After the initial test release of Rider 860, I drew up some sketches and made suggestions from a marketing perspective during a meeting.

And then one day after that, my boss proposed my involvement in the product development team, which led me to take on the interface and workflow planning for the new Rider 750, eventually kickstarting my career change.

Challenges

Designing consumer electronic products and mobile app software differs significantly because the former requires considerations specific to the product's use, such as power efficiency, durability, and visibility in direct sunlight. Interface design faces various challenges, often involving compromises due to constraints like color usage and component size.

Moreover, in the early stages of development, we often don't have the actual hardware to work with. We rely on the accumulated experiences as a product designer to make initial design decisions and create a framework to address potential variables, finding solutions quickly in the subsequent workflow.

Optimizing the display performance for each panel within the hardware specifications is a challenging yet intriguing task in Bryton's product design work.

Team, My Role & Responsibilities

■ Product Planning Team: 1 Product Manager, 1 Product Designer (Me), 1 Engineering Tester
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■ Engineering Development Team: 10 Engineers, with personnel adjusted as per project requirements.

In each project, my workflow involves receiving product specifications and positioning from the Product Manager, clarifying requirements from various sources like users and internal teams, conducting design research, visualizing the specifications, proposing designs, planning the workflow, delivering the design for engineering, testing, launching, and collecting market feedback for iterative proposals.

About Products
Rider 750
The Bryton Rider 750 is not only Bryton's first successful color touchscreen model but also the first in the market to feature Google Voice Search for assisted navigation.
Rider S500 / S800
Following the success of the Rider 750, Bryton introduced a new series, "S," which caters to advanced training enthusiasts. With the release of the S800, they introduced the "Group Ride" feature, which combines voice recognition with the ability to send real-time messages through voice, making it the market's first and only device with this capability.
Rider 750 SE
The Rider 750 Special Edition, targeted at cycling enthusiasts, who rides for fun and health. It received positive user feedback in the Europe market.

What I've done

Besides surveys, I directly observed and understood user perspectives on new features and specific workflows through on-site tasks and casual conversations. The insights gained from these interactions proved invaluable for product planning and detailed design work.

Rider 750

Integrating internal feedback, we aimed to create the first color touch product in the Rider product line. Starting with information architecture design, we streamlined user journeys, incorporated swipe gestures for quicker navigation, reducing steps, and enhancing safety during rides.
Based on user interviews, we designed a new feature surface for quick access to ride information.

Rider S500/S800

Designed according to the unique screen display features of the project.
Established a design system for the Rider product line to enhance development efficiency and design quality.
Optimized the Quick Status feature for better user experience.
Developed the Group Ride voice messaging function, fine-tuning it through usability testing.

Rider 750 SE

For the Rider 750 Special Edition, targeting the biking enthusiast market, we introduced a new workflow to observe user feedback.

Based on product positioning, interviews with specific target users, and market demands, we restructured the information architecture for a more user-friendly experience.
We implemented the new Custom Alert function according to new market demands.

Research & Problem Definition

For Rider Series feature planning, we collected feedback from overseas agents, customer service issues, and online reviews. We also sent out surveys during various events and marketing activities to gather thoughts from different cycling communities. One-on-one interviews and communication with testers and reviewers from different countries through email or video calls helped us delve deeper into the meanings behind the words, allowing us to address user pain points effectively.

After transitioning from marketing design to product design, I continued to participate in marketing activities to stay close to users.

Observing user thoughts on new features and specific workflows during these activities was invaluable for subsequent product planning and detailed design work.

Process & Design Spec Writing

After analyzing the issues with the product team, I was responsible for designing the workflow and compiling information, writing detailed design specifications. In this workflow, I used Google Forms, a tool familiar to the team, for organization. As the product development progressed, I continuously maintained and updated the specifications during stage meetings to ensure the accuracy of conclusions reached through communication between the product team and collaborating units.

Writing specification documents is a process I consider vital. Well-structured specification documents with a good navigational experience assist the engineering team in efficient development and reduce communication costs.

Through ongoing discussions with engineers, we left a trail for the product development process, helping the team maintain a consistent discussion context for the product's continued development.

Design System

As Bryton's first UX/Product Designer, I defined a design system for the main product line, Rider Series color models. Establishing a system not only ensures consistency and a good user experience but also reduces communication costs between me and the engineering team, making communication more efficient and reducing mistakes.

Takeaways

The Rider Series products have been a crucial part of my growth journey. I transitioned from a novice UI designer who stumbled through the process to a mature-thinking UX/Product Designer, solidifying my passion for this line of work.

Real design is not just about how it looks; it's about helping users smoothly accomplish a series of tasks.
Developing modular design thinking, constructing a UX architecture from requirements, deeply considering derived styles in various scenarios, and crafting an experience strategy.
Skills in empathetic thinking and communicating correctly with stakeholders.

Working with cross-functional teams broadened my perspective. I shifted from an initial belief that visual presentation trumps all to a focus on solving user problems and understanding the importance of "usability." I learned to think modularly, making more comprehensive and reusable design decisions. I also gained the skills to act as a bridge, facilitating team consensus and balancing the priorities of tasks, resources, constraints, and goals for effective "product design" execution.