KARGONAUT
Less complexity. More cargo.
One fleet. Three locations. Different needs.
KARGONAUT is a fictional cargo bike service based in Biel/Bienne, offering courier deliveries and private rentals. Both services share the same fleet, making it difficult to keep track of which bikes are available, where they're needed and when they can be used.
This project explores how a digital platform could bring fleet management, bookings and daily operations together in one place.
The goal was to make a complex planning process easier to understand, while giving KARGONAUT a visual identity that feels as approachable and energetic as the people behind it.
One fleet, a lot to coordinate.
KARGONAUT operates across three locations, with cargo bikes shared between courier deliveries and private rentals.
A bike might be available at one location but needed somewhere else. A private rental could overlap with an upcoming delivery. And moving a bike to solve one shortage might create another.
With information spread across Excel spreadsheets and WhatsApp conversations, keeping an overview requires a lot of manual coordination.
How might we help KARGONAUT manage its shared fleet, coordinate bookings and make better decisions about vehicle availability?
The problem: KARGONAUT struggles to distribute its shared fleet efficiently across three locations while reliably coordinating courier deliveries and private rentals.
Available doesn't always mean usable.
One of the first things I wanted to understand was what vehicle availability actually means in KARGONAUT's daily operations.
It's not simply a question of whether a bike is free.
A vehicle also needs to be at the right location, available at the right time and suitable for the task. Upcoming bookings and maintenance can change that availability throughout the day.
This creates several connected questions:
- Where are the bikes currently located?
- Which vehicles are available, booked or undergoing maintenance?
- Are there enough bikes for upcoming courier deliveries and rentals?
- When does a vehicle need to be moved to another location?
These questions helped define what information the interface needs to communicate and how it should be organised.
Key insight: The challenge isn't just tracking bikes. It's understanding how vehicles, locations and bookings affect one another.
Assistance instead of automation.
There are different ways a digital system could approach fleet redistribution.
One option would be to let the system automatically move vehicles between locations based on upcoming demand. Another would be to leave all planning decisions to the operator.
I decided to explore a middle ground: assisted redistribution.
The system identifies potential shortages and suggests possible transfers, but the operator stays in control of the final decision.
This approach became one of the central ideas behind KARGONAUT.
Make the situation visible
Operators should be able to understand fleet availability and upcoming demand without switching between multiple tools.
Support decisions
Recommendations should provide enough context to understand why a transfer might be necessary and what consequences it could have.
Keep people in control
The system should assist with planning, not make operational decisions without confirmation.
From a shortage to a solution.
To explore how assisted redistribution could work, I developed a user flow around a common operational scenario.
An upcoming courier delivery requires a cargo bike at a location where no suitable vehicle will be available.
Instead of manually checking the entire fleet, the operator receives an indication of the potential shortage.
Identify the problem
The dashboard highlights a location where upcoming demand exceeds available vehicles.
Review the situation
The operator can see which bookings are affected, what vehicles are required and how availability is distributed across the three locations.
Explore a recommendation
KARGONAUT suggests transferring a suitable bike from another location. The recommendation includes the proposed vehicle, origin, destination and potential impact on availability.
Make a decision
The operator can accept the recommendation, explore another option or postpone the transfer.
Confirm and track
Once confirmed, the transfer becomes part of the operational plan and can be tracked until completion.
The important part of this interaction is not the recommendation itself, but the information surrounding it.
Operators need to understand what they're agreeing to before making a decision.
Bringing everything into one place.
The next challenge was translating these connected processes into a clear interface.
I explored a structure that brings the most important operational information together without overwhelming the user.
The concept centres around four areas:
Dashboard
An overview of the current fleet, upcoming bookings, vehicle availability and situations that need attention.
Fleet
A location-based overview of cargo bikes, including their current status, availability and maintenance information.
Planning
A calendar that combines courier deliveries, private rentals and operational tasks in a shared timeline.
Redistribution
A dedicated workflow for reviewing potential shortages, evaluating transfers and coordinating vehicle movements.
The idea is to make information accessible at different levels of detail.
Operators can start with the bigger picture and move into individual vehicles, bookings or transfers when necessary.
Functional doesn't have to mean boring.
Alongside the interaction concept, I wanted to explore a visual identity that reflects KARGONAUT's character.
My usual approach to digital interfaces often starts with black, white, grey and a single accent colour.
For this project, I deliberately wanted to move away from that familiar formula.
I explored a colour palette that combines dark, technical tones with softer, more expressive colours.
Deep petrol and charcoal provide a stable foundation. Lavender, powder blue and mint introduce a lighter, more approachable feel. Lime adds energy and draws attention to important elements.
Rather than using colour purely for decoration, the palette also offers opportunities to structure information and distinguish different types of content.
The result is a visual direction that feels urban and contemporary without becoming overly technical or corporate.
Typography
Google Sans Flex forms the foundation of the visual identity. Its versatility makes it suitable for both expressive headlines and everyday interface elements.
Google Sans Code complements it wherever information needs a more technical character, such as vehicle identifiers, timestamps and operational data.
Photography
The photographic direction focuses on the people and everyday work behind KARGONAUT.
Straightforward portraits, natural expressions and documentary-style images of couriers in the city create a contrast to the structured digital interface.
The aim is to show a service that is driven by people, not just technology.
Making the complex feel simple.
With the visual direction established, I started translating the concept into interface components and screens.
The design combines modular layouts, rounded cards, clear typography and a restrained use of colour.
Information is grouped according to its purpose, helping users distinguish between bookings, fleet information and operational tasks.
The calendar plays an important role in the concept.
Instead of treating courier deliveries, private rentals and maintenance as separate schedules, the interface brings them into a shared view.
This makes it easier to recognise how different activities influence vehicle availability throughout the day.
Status indicators, time blocks and vehicle information are designed to be easy to scan.
The aim isn't to display as much information as possible, but to make the information that matters easier to find.
KARGONAUT beyond the desk.
While the desktop concept focuses on planning and fleet coordination, I also explored how KARGONAUT's visual language could translate into a mobile experience.
The mobile direction introduces a more focused interface for tasks such as viewing assignments, checking vehicle availability and exploring cargo bike rentals.
Large interactive elements, clearly separated content and simple navigation help keep the experience manageable on a smaller screen.
The visual identity remains consistent across both formats, while the layout and information hierarchy adapt to the different contexts.
This exploration helped me consider how one design system could support different users and situations without making every interface look or behave exactly the same.
Designing for the bigger picture.
KARGONAUT pushed me to think beyond individual screens and visual details.
The biggest challenge was understanding how different parts of the service depend on one another.
A booking affects vehicle availability. Availability affects location planning. And moving a vehicle can influence several other bookings.
Designing around these relationships helped me think more carefully about information architecture, user flows and decision-making.
The project was also an opportunity to challenge my visual habits.
Working with a broader colour palette encouraged me to experiment with how colour, typography and modular layouts can create a distinctive interface without sacrificing clarity.
What I'd explore next
The next step would be to test the proposed redistribution flow with realistic scenarios and people familiar with KARGONAUT's daily operations.
I'd particularly want to understand whether the recommendations provide enough information to make confident decisions and whether the calendar makes potential conflicts easier to recognise.
KARGONAUT is an exploration of how thoughtful interaction design and a strong visual identity can come together to make a complicated service easier to manage.
Less talk. More cargo.
Dihei z «Biu».