Catchy

Independent Public Transport App

Role: Product Designer and Developer
Timeline: 2020 – present
What It Is: Commuter app for web, iOS, Android, and Apple Watch

Overview

Catchy is a lightweight public transport app for commuters in Wellington, Christchurch, and Otago, focused on fast access to live departures for buses, trains, and ferries.

I designed and built it independently across product strategy, UX/UI, branding, frontend, backend, automation, and deployment.

Reliable transit information at a glance

People check public transport in rushed, distracted moments. They need to know what is coming, what has changed, and whether they can trust it without digging through noise.

Catchy stop board, favourites, and watch views showing key transit decisions at a glance

Catchy screens translating realtime updates, trip progress and transport alerts into clear commuter states

Less noise, more confidence

Catchy turns timetables, realtime updates, alerts, trip progress, maps, and regional quirks into clear commuter information.

The goal is not more data. It is the right information, in the right place, at the right level of detail.

Built with active commuter feedback

Catchy has a vocal user base who ask for features, report edge cases, and notice when details are wrong. Many product improvements come directly from those requests.

That makes the work practical: design the feature, ship it, see how people use it, then refine it.

Catchy requested and shipped feature examples from commuter feedback

Catchy web, iPhone and Apple Watch interfaces across Wellington, Christchurch and Otago

One experience across regions and devices

Catchy spans web, iPhone, and Apple Watch apps for Wellington, Christchurch, and Otago. Each region has different data and behaviour, but the product still needs to feel coherent.

A live product, not a frozen case study

Catchy is in constant development across product design, data model, platforms, regional support, and the watch apps. There have been over 1,000 releases since launch, and there’s always more to do.

The system changes over time, but the user promise stays stable: clear, relevant, trustworthy public transport information.

Catchy product evolution from Wellington to iPhone, Apple Watch, Christchurch and Otago support

Brand and Visual Identity

Because Catchy deals with dense, changing, real-world information, the brand and interface need to feel calm, clear, friendly, and dependable.

A logo and a mascot

Catchy’s branding centres on Catchy the cat, a small mascot with a practical job: making the app feel more personal.

Colour Palette

Catchy leans into bold oranges and yellows, then gives each transport mode its own clear colour across the product and supporting material.

Secondary and utility colours support that main palette without flattening it.

Iconography

I designed all Catchy's icons at the size they are used, so they stay crisp and intentional when used.

The icons are designed to be clear at small sizes, without being oversimplified or generic.

Typography

I designed Catchy’s icons and typeface to work together. Both use simple geometry, so the interface feels consistent from tiny icons through to larger brand moments.

The typeface, Bus, is a variable font built for small UI text first, but has enough character to support the wider brand.

Karori Park

Get on Board

Regular: AaāBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0912345?!@%$&()[]:;/

Medium: AaāBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0912345?!@%$&()[]:;/

Semibold: AaāBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0912345?!@%$&()[]:;/

Bold: AaāBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0912345?!@%$&()[]:;/

Extrabold: AaāBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz0912345?!@%$&()[]:;/

The proof is in the pudding

Google Play 4.9 / 5

App Store 4.8 / 5

“Tracking the bus as it goes past stops is genius and seriously helpful. No more guessing when the bus is going to arrive.”
App Store review by ssashag, November 5 2022

“If you’re in Wellington and use public transport, get this app.”
App Store review by Tangus08, January 16 2023

“A great quality-of-life improvement.”
App Store review by IslandBayBlondie, November 19 2023

“This app has become my go-to for public transport information.”
Google Play review surfaced via Chrome Stats, January 2 2025