We’re proud to announce the release of the official Ernie London mobile app! Ernie’s new app empowers businesses to order sustainable beverages for their workplace, set up regular subscriptions, and monitor their carbon impact.
After initially getting to know Jeremy and the team last year, and working with them on the development of a new sustainable website (https://ernie.london), we began discussions over the next stages for Ernie. From the initial conversation back in June 2023, we’ve been on a journey strategising, designing and developing a new mobile app, powered by 100% renewable energy, for the amazing team over at Ernie London.
The goals
- Automating the processes of subscription & order management, with the aim of reducing time and friction for customers.
- Promote sustainability awareness through empowering users to monitor their carbon impact directly through the app, and encouraging businesses to adopt sustainable practices by offering a convenient, eco-friendly solution to workplace beverages and snacks.
And in the long-term
With the launch of the Ernie app, we hope the following long-term, big-picture goals, are achieved:
- Driving an increase in new user adoption, through encouraging new businesses to use the mobile app and switch to a sustainable solution for their business.
- Strengthen customer loyalty with sustainability being the core of the customer experience, encouraging repeat orders and long-term subscriptions, and positioning Ernie as a leader in sustainable beverage
Sustainability
Sustainability plays a major role in everything we do here at Dolce Studio, and for Ernie this was equally important.
Ernie Approach To Sustainability
Ernie takes a comprehensive approach to sustainability, focusing on eco-friendly practices throughout their entire operation:
- They use a mixture of pedal and electric vehicles for their deliveries, ensuring zero emissions during transportation.
- They operate a small delivery zone in London Zone 1 & 2, allowing for more efficient route planning and increased use of eco-friendly transportation methods like bicycles and electric vehicles.
- Their product range consists of carefully selected sustainable beverages and snacks, packaged in recyclable or compostable materials.
- Ernie also implements a closed-loop system, collecting, refilling and recycling packaging from customers.
Sustainability in our Digital Solutions
At Dolce Studio, we build bespoke websites and mobile applications that are powered by 100% renewable energy, and are designed & optimised for the benefit of our planet. Through previously working with Ernie, on their website, we helped them reduce their digital carbon output by 77.74%. Our approach continued with the design & development of the Ernie App, a mobile application using servers powered by 100% sun, wind and water power.
Renewable hosting is just one small part of our approach, and the development of the Ernie App is helping achieve environmental sustainability in more ways:
- Reduced waste through automation – the automation of systems such as subscription & order management, and carbon impact monitoring, helps reduces the need to create unnecessary paper waste, and allows for increased scalability in way which protects the planet.
- Development of automated impact certificates – impact certificates help Ernie’s clients understand the real impact that they’re making by choosing Ernie. This understanding helps drive the desire for long-term change, increasing repeat orders & subscriptions, which ultimately achieves further carbon savings.
- Efficient data loading techniques to reduce data transfer throughout the usage of the app, resulting in further carbon savings.
Design Process
We began by creating detailed sketches to visualise our initial ideas and concepts. These sketches allowed us to quickly explore different layouts and user interface elements. Next, we moved on to building wireframes, which provided a more structured representation of the app’s architecture and functionality. The wireframes helped us refine the user flow and ensure a logical arrangement of features.
Once the wireframes were approved, we developed a close-to-life prototype. This high-fidelity prototype closely resembled the final product, complete with interactive elements and visual design. It allowed us to make necessary adjustments before moving into the development phase. This thorough design process ensured that we had a solid foundation and direction before writing a single line of code.
After developing the core functionality, we rigorously tested the user flow. Based on these tests, we fine-tuned the UI design and interactions to enhance the overall user experience. This iterative and collaborative process involved analysing the interaction and identifying potential pain points. We refined elements to improve intuitiveness, optimised element placement and sizing for easier interaction, and adjusted the use of the brand palette to enhance readability and visual appeal.
Technology Stack
For the development of the Ernie app, we utilised a robust and efficient technology stack that prioritised sustainability and seamless integration with existing systems. Here’s an overview of our approach:
Database Integration: We leveraged Ernie’s existing website database for the app, creating a unified system. This strategy allowed us to:
- Reduce unnecessary server usage, minimising our digital carbon footprint
- Align all processes for improved efficiency
- Ensure the app is powered by 100% renewable hosting, consistent with our sustainability goals
Front-end Development: For the user interface and experience, we employed:
- Next.js: A React framework that enables server-side rendering and generates static websites for better performance
Data Communication: To facilitate efficient communication between the front-end and the database, we implemented:
- GraphQL: This query language allowed us to request precisely the data we needed, reducing over-fetching and minimising data transfer, which in turn contributes to lower energy consumption
This technology stack not only provided a solid foundation for the Ernie app but also aligned perfectly with our commitment to sustainable digital solutions. By optimising our resource use and leveraging renewable hosting, we’ve created an app that’s not just functional and user-friendly, but also environmentally responsible.