Impact detection: Designing for high-stress moments in motion
Type of project
A real-world project launched as part of my leadership role at The Floow, integrated across multiple insurer-facing mobile apps.
Company & product overview
The Floow delivers mobile telematics solutions that monitor driving behaviour, improve safety, and help insurers offer better pricing and support. This includes apps capable of detecting vehicle impacts and triggering claims-related workflows.
Skills & area of focus
Mobile UX design, motion-triggered workflows, human-centred interaction design, behavioural data mapping, accessibility, emergency UX, product strategy, prototyping, edge-case handling.
Project problem or purpose
Post-accident experiences are often chaotic and unclear. Insurers needed a faster, smarter, and more user-friendly way to detect crashes and begin the claims process. Our goal was to design an experience that could bring calm, clarity, and trust to an inherently stressful situation, for both users and insurance partners.
Roles, responsibilities, & team
I led product design for this project, working closely with data scientists (impact detection models), mobile engineers, and insurer stakeholders. The team included a product manager, two designers, and QA support. We collaborated remotely, with inputs from legal, compliance, and customer care teams to ensure a safe, compliant, and ethical design.
Timeline, scope, constraints
The project ran across a 12-week sprint window and was released as part of a larger update cycle. Challenges included designing for false positive mitigation, platform variability (iOS/Android sensors), and regulatory differences between insurance partners in different regions.
Process & what I did
We began by mapping real crash scenarios, speaking to policyholders, and simulating events to understand emotional and cognitive states. I led the design of a responsive flow that auto-triggered on suspected impact, prompting users with guided checklists, emergency options, and a simplified claims intake. I worked with devs on animation timing and safe-state handling, and with insurers to customise language and support steps per policy. We tested on both devices and car mounts to validate usability in real-world environments.
Outcomes, results, & lessons
The new experience significantly reduced user confusion during crash events and enabled faster claims processing. We saw a measurable drop in customer support requests and high satisfaction scores in follow-up surveys. Perhaps most importantly, users reported feeling “guided and reassured”, which proved our goal of turning a high-stress moment into a more human one. The big takeaway: trust isn't just built in branding, it's built in how products behave under pressure.
