0-to-1 · Solo designer
A pilot logbook simple enough for non-aviators to follow, built from a blank page as the only designer on the project.
The brief
Pilots and aviation students are required to log detailed flight data throughout their careers. It's not optional; it's how their hours and qualifications are proven. The existing tools for doing this were complicated, data-heavy, and slow, built around the regulatory requirement rather than the person filling it out.
Ezlogbook hired me to design a unique interface simple enough that even non-aviators could follow it, despite an end-user age range spanning 20 to 65, with very different relationships to technology.
Strategy
I anchored the design on four criteria (usable, equitable, enjoyable, useful), with particular weight on equitable, given how wide the age range was. The core move was replacing lengthy data-entry processes with simple icon-plus-text patterns, so the interface didn't assume a level of comfort with apps that not every pilot had.
The proposal: an app and website where pilots could register their logbook, log flights in as few steps as possible, and even upload medical documents and records, all without needing a manual to get started.
The work
Outcome
Ezlogbook is now known as the simplest pilot logbook available, and the only app on the market where pilots can log a flight in a single step.