V by Vodafone

V by Vodafone is a suite of connected devices designed to be part of everyday life — controlled through a single iOS app on a subscription model. Vodafone needed a new app built from scratch to manage their planned device release, with the Neo kids watch as the primary focus.

The core challenge was mapping the common global elements and features across each connected device — a pet tracker, bike tracker, multi-use tracker, and the kids watch — and designing a coherent experience that worked across all of them while serving the unique complexity of each.

As a team we prioritised the Neo kids watch — it had the most complex feature set, including chat, calendar, rewards, location tracking, and a full parental controls layer. My scope included leading the onboarding user journey mapping with stakeholders, working closely with Vodafone's in-house design team to understand constraints of the connected device and the surrounding systems.

A key design decision I drove was replacing QR code-based onboarding with a Bluetooth pairing approach — QR codes were creating friction for users during device setup, and leveraging native phone functions removed that barrier entirely.

I led the visualisation of the app's IA across all devices, giving the multiple product owners a clear view of what an MVP looked like and helping create a phased release plan.

The final app gave kids independence — location sharing, activity tracking, chat, and a rewards system — while giving parents the controls to set boundaries, monitor usage, and manage their subscription all in one place.

There was a requirement to establish UI guidelines and patterns that could be used across the app estate and for other connected products.

I also led the design of the core app functionalities including location, activity, messaging, payments and subscription flows; covering new subscriptions across all connected devices, renewals, cancellations, and payment method updates.