USPS Mobile App

In 2018 I joined a team with a monumental task: rebuild the United States Postal Service’s apps for both iOS and Android from the ground up. We pulled out all the stops, beginning a spree of user research, market research, and careful hiring to accomplish this challenging goal and create apps that were on the cutting edge of design and development for the United States’ most beloved agency.

After completing a lengthy requirements session and almost a year of user research, we felt we were ready to begin crafting brand new USPS applications from scratch. We began with pencil sketches and whiteboard drawings, and by the time we were done we had a complete working prototype.

One of the key requirements from the folks at USPS was that users had to be able to "buy stamps in three taps or less." Our user research showed that buying stamps is one of the most common things people do with the application, but also is a significant pain point. In the existing application, users had to create a USPS.com account and sign in to be able to purchase stamps.

We streamlined the process by putting a navigation item to purchase stamps front and center on every part of the application. We also implemented Apple Pay and Google Pay to leverage the user's device to simplify the checkout process. If the user does not want to use the proprietary payment option of their phone they can still purchase their stamps with a simple cart and a smooth, modern checkout experience.

Finally, we created a beautiful new experience for the stamp store. Looking through examples of past stamps, we were amazed by the beautiful art and designs throughout the USPS's history and decided to emphasize that in our design. The stamps store stands out in the application but adheres to the design guidelines and style guide that we created to ensure that it feels like an important part of the whole application.