DWhite Design

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Cortex Energy Insights - Enabling commercial buildings to reduce carbon emissions.

Cortex Energy Insights

Cortex Commerical Energy Reporting Dashboard

Problem Space

Cortex is tackling climate change by equipping office building owners with actionable energy insights that drive smarter, more sustainable operations.

The UX objective was to deeply understand building engineers—their workflows, challenges, and goals—in order to design tools that help them operate buildings more efficiently and effectively.

My Role

As the lead UX designer, I led the design of the Cortex carbon reduction platform, which helped buildings eliminate 23,000 metric tons of CO₂e annually.

Working within a small agile team, I wore multiple hats:
• Conducted user research
• Shaped interaction design
• Prototyped and refined design solutions
I also drove process improvements and partnered closely with product management to define requirements, prioritize features, and align the team around user and business goals.

Research and user feedback

I conducted ongoing user research with surveys, site visits, and interviews to understand users, building operations and their impact on efficiency and carbon footprint. Users revealed that portfolio managers and building operation teams have different goals and don’t communicate effectively.

Understanding and defining the users

• Ongoing testing and user feedback revealed key needs that shaped core features.
• Site visits and persona work uncovered two distinct user groups with different goals, transforming the product from a simple energy-saving tool into a platform serving both communities.

Key to the evolution of the product and driving user-centric problems solving for end users was the realization from research that two very distinct user groups existed.

One focused on the day-to-day operations of individual buildings.
The other focused on how a portfolio of buildings perform as investment.

My work was crucial in defining the user personas, which helped the team align on the goals, motivations, and challenges of our end users

Understanding users drove product evolution

Ongoing testing and user feedback revealed key needs that shaped core features. Site visits and persona work uncovered two distinct user groups with different goals, transforming the product from a simple energy-saving tool into a platform serving both communities.

Core User | Energy saving recommendations

OPERATES THE BUILDING DAILY | KNOWS THE BUILDING INTIMATELY

Engineers are

Overworked and not tech-savvy, struggles with outdated systems and unclear energy goals. Wants simple tools to keep tenants happy and cut daily energy use.

Engineers wants to know

When to start up the building daily?
How long do I keep systems running to maintain tenant comfort?
How do I avoid management criticism for doing their best to make the building efficient?

Core User | Planning & Cost Reporting

PLANS | SETS REQUIREMENTS | OWNS FISCAL & COMPLIANCE

Management teams are

Responsible for the investments.
Cannot see the operational complexities of each building or understand the results of investments in energy efficiency made in each building.

Want to know

If investments are effective across their entire portfolio.
Overall (portfolio) cost vs. savings

Customer interviews revealed this persona, leading to a standalone product: Cortex Energy Reporting

Customer interviews revealed this persona, leading to a standalone product:
Cortex Energy Reporting

Design considerations

The more I learned about our users, the clearer it became: every office, team, and building was unique. That was one of the biggest challenges of designing for this product.

• Designing features for a diverse user base presented significant challenges.

• Complex user journeys and data flows were carefully considered for each feature.
• Thorough testing was essential to finalize designs.

During my three years at Cortex, our team explored various approaches to enhance energy efficiency and savings.

We discovered that users prioritize time and attention, requiring concise, actionable information to effectively manage their buildings. This insight became a foundational design principle.

Guiding principles for Users

• Show me what I need nowLet me get to more detail quickly when I need it

• Allow me to understand what did or didn’t work in the past

• Predict what might work in the future

• Show me what I need nowLet me get to more detail quickly when I need it

• Allow me to understand what did or didn’t work in the past

• Predict what might work in the future

Delivering on the guiding principles meant providing realtime and discrete data throughout the operational day. Each building is unique and each day is different. This meant designing for many different conditions and scenarios.

Solutions

Cortex was established to make buildings carbon friendlier and more efficient. What started as an application that gave building engineers very basic guidance to start the building each day evolved into a powerful tool that gives engineers strong guidance through out the day.

A core principle of the design solution is presenting the most important operational tasks right away so engineers can immediately know what to do today.

This asks users only to handle mission-critical information.

Other, less frequently needed information is available a click or two away.

A core principle of the design solution is presenting the most important operational tasks right away so engineers can immediately know what to do today. This asks users only to handle mission-critical information.

Other, less frequently needed information is available a click or two away.

A core principle of the design solution is presenting the most important operational tasks right away so engineers can immediately know what to do today. This asks users only to handle mission-critical information. Other, less frequently needed information is available a click or two away.

Critical Today

Cortex provides information at a high level and fine detail.

By grouping relevant graphs with recommendations about potential issues the app helps users quickly assess problems and dive into the details as needed.

Users loved that quick access to floor temperature details allowing them to keep tenants comfortable.

Cortex provides information at a high level and fine detail. By grouping relevant graphs with recommendations about potential issues the app helps users quickly assess problems and dive into the details as needed. Users loved that quick access to floor temperature details allowing them to keep tenants comfortable.

Contextual Details

Presenting data in ways let users evaluate what is going on in their building more effectively.In this case, the floor temperature heatmap gives a very quick read of problem floors and links to detailed sensor readings.

This data isn’t presented in a usable way anywhere else. This novel solution earned users trust and loyalty more than almost any other feature.

Presenting data in ways let users evaluate what is going on in their building more effectively.In this case, the floor temperature heatmap gives a very quick read of problem floors and links to detailed sensor readings. This data isn’t presented in a usable way anywhere else. This novel solution earned users trust and loyalty more than almost any other feature.

New ways to view data

Busy engineers want to be told if they need to worry about an emerging situation in the building.

A deep dive was done to understand what was truly useful to them.The solution balanced the right amount of alerting without over-messaging users.

We fine-tuned the messaging and frequency of alerts to drive action without driving engineers crazy.

Busy engineers want to be told if they need to worry about an emerging situation in the building.
A deep dive was done to understand what was truly useful to them.The solution balanced the right amount of alerting without over-messaging users.

We fine-tuned the messaging and frequency of alerts to drive action without driving engineers crazy.

Alerts and reminders

While engineers are mostly focus on savings in the morning, our research indicated interest in savings at the end of the day.

Our approach gave them easy-to-follow recommendations for reducing energy use at the end of the day helps them identify inefficient equipment and realize more savings with minimal effort.

While engineers are mostly focus on savings in the morning, our research indicated interest in savings at the end of the day.

Our approach gave them easy-to-follow recommendations for reducing energy use at the end of the day helps them identify inefficient equipment and realize more savings with minimal effort.

End of day savings

The Impact

Users faced with a myriad of different products with complex and different UIs would opt to use Cortex, because of ease and simplicity, even for things that it was intended to do.

Carbon saved + Money saved + Easier to use

Users faced with a myriad of different products with complex and different UIs would opt to use Cortex, because of ease and simplicity, even for things that it was intended to do.
Carbon saved + Money saved + Easier to use

It makes my job easier by providing start times, which saves money for ownership, and gives us the information and the tools needed to make educated decisions on a daily basis.
- Chief Building Engineer

“There's nothing I dislike about Cortex. Its simple. Easy to use and I need to adjust my world to use it more often. It's great and it works."
– A New York building engineer

Skills & Tools

David White

Product Designer | User Experience Design

Translating complexity into simplicity through intentional, human-centered design.

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Illustration & Concept Art

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Product Design

About

David White

Product Design | UX Design

Translating complexity into simplicity through intentional, human-centered design.

Connect

Connect with me on LinkedIn

View Illustration & Concept Art

Navigate

Product Design

About

David White

Product Designer | User Experience Design

Translating complexity into simplicity through intentional, human-centered design.

Connect

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Concept Art

Navigate

Product Design

About