Peijin Du · CLIENT: Citifix
Citifix tackles urban issues like potholes and broken streetlights using GIS technology for smarter maintenance. Inspired by real-life frustrations, it allows residents to report problems with geotagging and photos, ensuring accurate data. City teams can visualize problem areas, prioritize repairs, and allocate resources efficiently. The simple workflow makes reporting fast and convenient, while officials gain real-time insights to improve response times and infrastructure management.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- CitiFix is an innovative project designed to tackle urban infrastructure issues such as broken streetlights, potholes, and damaged water pipes. It was born from the personal experiences of its creators, who encountered various challenges in their own neighborhoods. This platform allows citizens to quickly report problems using geotagging and photo uploads, ensuring accurate documentation of issues.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Citizens can use their iOS and Android devices to capture photos, mark issue locations, and submit detailed reports directly through the mobile app. The system ensures accurate geotagging and seamless report submission, making it easy for residents to contribute to city improvements in real time.
For city maintenance teams, a web-based platform provides an interactive dashboard to review, prioritize, and manage reported issues efficiently. Integrated GIS analytics generate actionable insights, helping teams identify recurring problems, optimize resource allocation, and streamline maintenance operations for smarter urban management. - Tags
- Public Services, Platform, Community, App Design, Smart City
- Production Technology
- GIS for Spatial Data Management: Visualized on an interactive map, allowing city maintenance teams to track, manage, and analyze infrastructure issues.
Augmented Reality (AR): Enhances real-world interactions by overlaying icons on the interactive map.
AI-powered Processing: Automatically categorizes and prioritizes reports. - Design Challenge
- Testing the AR scanning feature in different environments posed a challenge, as not all phones handled the technology smoothly, especially older models, leading to usability issues that had to be addressed.
- Project Duration
- The project started in December 2023 in Chicago, IL, and finished in May 2024. It was exhibited at The Blanc Gallery NYC and Penn Museum in 2024.
- Operation Flow
- Users interact with CitiFix by opening the app and scanning their surroundings using the AR feature, which identifies infrastructure issues like potholes or broken streetlights. They can tap on the detected problem, or manually select it from a list, attach photos, and add details. Once the request is submitted, users can track its progress in real-time, making reporting quick, intuitive, and engaging.
- Research
- For CitiFix, we used user-centered design, combining surveys, interviews, and usability testing with 25 residents, city officials, and maintenance crews. Tools like Figma, Maze, and Google Forms streamlined feedback collection. Findings showed reporting systems were too complex, leading to underreporting, while maintenance teams lacked clarity and real-time updates. We designed an intuitive interface with real-time tracking to improve efficiency and engagement.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for CitiFix came from the small everyday issues people face in cities, such as potholes, broken streetlights, and similar problems, that often go unreported. I wanted to design an easy to use app that empowers residents to quickly report these issues and track their resolution. CitiFix brings city maintenance closer to the community, making urban living safer and more connected for everyone.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Product Designer Peijin Du, CitiFix, 2025.
Image #2: Product Designer Peijin Du, CitiFix, 2025.
Image #3: Product Designer Peijin Du, CitiFix, 2025.
Image #4: Product Designer Peijin Du, CitiFix, 2025.
Image #5: Product Designer Peijin Du, CitiFix, 2025.
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