Clemap NEW | Tsuga Studio

Clemap
Designing Energy Insights for Diverse Users

Role: First and sole UX/UI designer

Team: Founders, electrical engineers

Company: CLEMAP – installs energy sensors in multi-apartment buildings and businesses

Stage: Early working prototype (very technical)

Overview

At CLEMAP, I was the first designer, joining a team of engineers to turn a technical energy-tracking prototype into a user-friendly MVP. We identified user needs through early adopter feedback and created key flows like sensor setup, appliance tracking, energy monitoring, and data export.

A core challenge was balancing complex visualizations for technical users with simplicity for non-technical ones. I iterated quickly, tested often, and improved in-app support to guide users through a still-developing product. This case study focuses on how we visualized energy usage clearly and accessibly.

While I worked on many aspects of the product, this case study focuses specifically on how we designed energy data visualizations—showing real-time usage and historical stats—in a way that served both technical and non-technical users.

Goals

Make real-time energy usage easy to understand for both technical and non-technical users.
Design clear and useful data visualizations for past energy statistics (daily, monthly, yearly, and custom ranges).
Ensure that key insights were accessible at a glance, without overwhelming users with unnecessary complexity.
Support early adopters by integrating their feedback quickly into iterative improvements.
Balance simplicity and depth, so that casual users could find value while technical users could still dig deeper.

The interviews were informal, one-on-one sessions with early adopters. I used a mix of open-ended questions and task-based prompts to understand how they interacted with the prototype and their specific needs. This allowed me to capture both qualitative feedback and observe how users approached different tasks in the app.

We interviewed early adopters. These included:

One person managing multiple apartments.
A solar energy user looking to track energy usage and savings.
A few engineers who were interested in the technical aspects.
One user managing electricity usage at their holiday house in the mountains.

Simplicity in Data Presentation:
- Users from all groups, particularly non-technical users, emphasized the importance of simplicity. The data needed to be displayed in an easy-to-understand format without overwhelming users with technical details.
- Guideline: Provide clear, simple visualizations that focus on key data points like total consumption, breakdown by appliances, and cost savings.
Customizability:
- Solar users, building managers, and business clients all requested the ability to customize views. For example, solar users wanted to compare energy production vs. consumption, while building managers wanted to break down usage by apartment.
- Guideline: Ensure that users can filter, group, and adjust data based on their unique needs (e.g., by appliance, by time period, by property).
Real-Time vs. Historical Data:
- A mix of real-time monitoring and historical data was important. Users wanted to see how current consumption compared to past data for trend analysis, especially to identify anomalies or patterns.
- Guideline: Make real-time data easily accessible, but also provide robust tools to explore historical data over different time ranges (e.g., today, last week, last month).
Actionable Insights:
- Business and apartment managers, in particular, wanted actionable insights to identify inefficiencies, where they could cut costs, and how they could optimize consumption.
- Guideline: Provide data not just for observation, but also for action—include features like alerts, cost breakdowns, or suggestions for energy-saving actions.
Multi-User Support:
- Several users, especially those managing apartments, highlighted the need to share data with other team members or stakeholders, either for reporting or collaborative decision-making.
- Guideline: Include functionality for multi-user access and export options for easy sharing of reports and data summaries.
Mobile Usability:
- Given that some users needed to access the app on-site (e.g., engineers or holiday homeowners), the mobile experience needed to be as streamlined and user-friendly as the desktop version.
- Guideline: Optimize for mobile devices with simple navigation and essential data views that work well in outdoor, potentially low-connectivity environments.
Scalability:
- As some users (like the multi-apartment building managers) were dealing with large-scale data, it became clear that scalability of the app would be important.
- Guideline: Ensure that the app can scale to handle large datasets without compromising performance or ease of use, especially for users managing multiple locations or properties.

These guidelines offer a blend of technical and non-technical considerations, ensuring that the product works for a wide range of users while addressing their unique needs.

Sophia - The Property Manager (((PERSONA AD JOURNEY MAP)

Age: 42
Role: Property Manager for a multi-apartment building
Background: Sophia oversees energy consumption for a large building with multiple tenants. She has some technical knowledge but is primarily focused on managing the property efficiently.
Goals:
- Understand the energy consumption of different tenants and identify where costs can be reduced.
- Split energy usage by apartment to ensure fair billing.
- Monitor overall energy use across the property to find areas where savings can be made.
Pain Points:
- Difficulty keeping track of different tenants' energy usage.
- Managing energy costs across multiple units.
Needs:
- Clear, easy-to-understand data visualizations.
- Ability to break down energy consumption by apartment and identify patterns.
- Simple and intuitive mobile experience for quick, on-the-go checks.

Liam - The Solar Panel Enthusiast

Age: 30
Role: Homeowner with solar energy system
Background: Liam is tech-savvy and uses solar energy at home. He’s interested in how his solar panels are impacting his overall energy consumption.
Goals:
- Track how much energy he generates from solar panels versus what he pulls from the grid.
- See how solar energy contributes to his overall energy savings.
- Monitor his consumption trends over time to optimize usage and lower costs.
Pain Points:
- Uncertainty about the actual savings from solar energy.
- Difficulty comparing energy use before and after the installation of solar panels.
Needs:
- Clear, detailed breakdown of solar energy vs. grid usage.
- Historical data for monthly and yearly comparisons.
- Easy-to-read charts and graphs showing solar energy contributions.

David - The Business Operations Manager (Target persona)

Age: 38
Role: Operations Manager for a large business with multiple facilities
Background: David oversees the energy management system for a large corporation. His primary responsibility is to ensure that energy consumption is efficient across all company buildings.
Goals:
Monitor real-time energy consumption across multiple sites to prevent waste.
Identify energy inefficiencies and recommend adjustments to save costs.
Generate detailed reports on energy use for upper management.
Pain Points:
Managing energy use across multiple locations.
Difficulty gathering consistent data from various facilities.
Needs:
Scalable system to handle multiple buildings.
Real-time updates and the ability to compare different sites’ consumption.
Simple data visualizations that allow for quick analysis and decision-making.
Customizable reports to share with stakeholders.

nitial testing phase involved interactive Figma prototypes, allowing us to closely observe how users accessed the educational content, how easily they could engage with audio materials, and how they emotionally responded to the tone and format of the information.We gathered both qualitative and quantitative feedback, grouping findings into themes such as navigation friction, content comprehension,

Before I joined, the engineering team had created four different visualizations to show the same electricity data. While this offered flexibility for power users, it overwhelmed less technical audiences. My goal was to merge the strengths of all four into one clear, adaptable visualization. I analyzed which views users actually needed, tested simplified prototypes with early adopters, and ultimately designed a single layout that could scale — giving advanced users the depth they wanted, without sacrificing accessibility for others.

From the beginning, I had direct access to five early adopters who were excited about the product and eager to give feedback. This close connection allowed me to test flows and visual concepts almost immediately after designing them.

Their input helped me catch pain points early and refine designs quickly — especially around clarity, language, and the way information was grouped. Because they represented both technical and non-technical users, I could balance the experience for both groups from the start.

Measuring Success and Client Acquisition

In measuring success, we tracked key metrics such as user retention, task completion times, and user feedback on the simplicity and effectiveness of data visualizations. After streamlining the interface and addressing pain points, we saw improvements in these metrics.

We found these out through direct user interviews, analytics tracking within the app, and follow-up surveys with early adopters. These insights helped us refine the design and directly contributed to securing several new clients in the process, validating the impact of our design changes.

User retention rose by 30%, with users returning more often to check energy data and trends.

Task completion times dropped by 20% thanks to a more intuitive interface, making it easier for users to manage appliances and track energy use.

85% of users rated the improved data visualizations as "simple" and "effective."

Error resolution time decreased by 40% due to improved troubleshooting and in-app guidance, based on support requests and user feedback.

CLIENTS AQUIRED

What I Learned

Through this project, I learned how important it is to balance the needs of both technical and non-technical users. I gained a deeper understanding of how user feedback, especially from early adopters, can directly inform design decisions and drive iterative improvements. I also learned the value of simplifying complex data visualizations to make them accessible to a wider audience. Working closely with engineers helped me see the technical constraints and challenges that influence design, and it taught me how to translate those into user-friendly solutions. Ultimately, this project reinforced the power of collaboration, rapid testing, and iteration in creating products that truly meet users' needs.

Final Designs

Clemap Designing Energy Insights for Diverse Users

Overview​