Wellness features in food delivery apps — heat-safe riding in a warming city
A humanitarian brief: wellbeing by design for delivery riders
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Project brief
Humanitech asked us to explore how technology might empower urban communities to cope with climate impacts. We focused on delivery riders and heat-stress, aiming to augment existing rider apps with practical wellbeing features usable during shifts.
The problem
- Heatwaves are australia's deadliest natural hazard; urban heat is rising
- Riders often prioritise income during busy periods, neglecting hydration and shade
- Current apps lack contextual wellness support and inclusive language options
The opportunity
Embed wellness features inside the rider apps they already use, with low-friction prompts and benefits that make staying safe the rational choice during heat events.
The solution
- Map markers for heat safety — nearby water, shade, sunscreen points
- Daily check-ins with credits — earn credits for reporting wellbeing and redeem at partner vendors
- Multilingual onboarding — language options at first run
- Clearer concepts & icons — rename "climate credits"→"credits"; switch to coin-stack icon; simplify legends
*Note: emergency contacts removed after testing showed low likelihood of use.*
Design approach
Research
Guerrilla and scheduled interviews with 14 riders across Perth, Adelaide, Hong Kong; stakeholder sessions with Humanitech.
Synthesis
Affinity maps, personas, journey maps; problem-scale model balancing rider, platform, and charity priorities.
Prototyping & tests
Crazy-8s with the client; mid-fi grayscale Figma; moderated/unmoderated tests in Useberry; refined to hi-fi.
Outcomes & insight
- 66% reported negative heat effects; 78% expect platforms to do more; 81% believe in-app health info could improve wellness
- Comprehension of wellness screen and credits improved after iterations
- Cross-sector model fits existing rider behaviour and platform incentives
Reflection & next steps
- What worked: Augmenting existing apps; on-shift cues; multilingual setup
- Challenges: Inconsistent early test scripts; explaining new concepts
- Next: Animated weather; smoother redemption flow; wearable integrations
Interactive prototype
Try the mid-fi/hi-fi flows.
Gallery
Map markers showing nearest water and shade to reduce heat exposure during shifts
Daily check-ins to report wellbeing and earn credits
Hi-fi map with clear markers for water and shade
Intuitive check-in flow with simple UI elements
Clear display of earned credits and how to redeem them
Multilingual support from the very first screen
Dashboard integrating wellness features seamlessly
Contextual weather alerts to inform riders
Visualising the user journey for the credit system
A storyboard showing the feature in a real-world context
Bring wellness into platforms riders already use
Interested in the cross-sector model (platforms + retailers + charities)? I can walk through research artefacts and testing in detail.
Contact me