Cairo--:--

Product designer and design lead. I build and improve products, the systems that hold them together, and the teams that ship them. Twelve years, more than twenty teams, one tally at a time.

A pear-coloured circular aperture on a deep green ground.

Along

Designing checkout into the trolley.

Year

2018

Client

Along

Role

UX and UI design

Field

Retail technology · UX and UI design

Scope

UX design · UX research · UI design · Embedded screen

An illustrative trolley-mounted Along device showing a basket with real product photographs.

The challenge

The brief was to help shoppers scan groceries and pay from their trolley without joining the checkout queue. I contributed to shopper research and designed the experience around a small touchscreen behind a circular opening.

The survey finding that 86.4 percent of 81 respondents were bothered by checkout queues, alongside a redrawn supplied-display diagram.

The approach

Working inside a circle

The enclosure shaped the layout. Login and numeric entry used the wider centre of the display, with separate states for registration, confirmation and recovery.

Language selection, sign-in options and phone-number entry within the circular display.

The experience

Making each scan clear

The scan screen brought the product, price and expiry date together, with quantity controls and clear confirmation before adding it to the basket.

A close-up of the illustrative Along device showing a scanned Pepsi can, price and quantity controls.

Keeping checkout close

The basket kept its total and checkout action with the product list. Card entry unfolded one question at a time, giving each step room on the small display.

Card number, expiry date, security code and payment confirmation states.

Learning with shoppers

Shoppers tried a clickable prototype. Their feedback went into the controls: larger tap targets, and buttons repositioned within the circular display, before handoff.

Payment completion with a rating prompt and a follow-up feedback screen.

The outcome

The project ended at design handoff, covering entry, scanning, basket review, payment and feedback.

Credits

UX and UI design: Sayed Essam, the sole designer on the project. Collaboration: the founders and engineers. Branding and hardware were supplied.

Request the PDF portfolio →

Image viewer

The challenge

The brief was to help shoppers scan groceries and pay from their trolley without joining the checkout queue. I contributed to shopper research and designed the experience around a small touchscreen behind a circular opening.

The survey finding that 86.4 percent of 81 respondents were bothered by checkout queues, alongside a redrawn supplied-display diagram.

The approach

Working inside a circle

The enclosure shaped the layout. Login and numeric entry used the wider centre of the display, with separate states for registration, confirmation and recovery.

Language selection, sign-in options and phone-number entry within the circular display.

The experience

Making each scan clear

The scan screen brought the product, price and expiry date together, with quantity controls and clear confirmation before adding it to the basket.

A close-up of the illustrative Along device showing a scanned Pepsi can, price and quantity controls.

Keeping checkout close

The basket kept its total and checkout action with the product list. Card entry unfolded one question at a time, giving each step room on the small display.

Card number, expiry date, security code and payment confirmation states.

Learning with shoppers

Shoppers tried a clickable prototype. Their feedback went into the controls: larger tap targets, and buttons repositioned within the circular display, before handoff.

Payment completion with a rating prompt and a follow-up feedback screen.

The outcome

The project ended at design handoff, covering entry, scanning, basket review, payment and feedback.

Credits

UX and UI design: Sayed Essam, the sole designer on the project. Collaboration: the founders and engineers. Branding and hardware were supplied.

Request the PDF portfolio →

Image viewer

Up next

Tremvo

Enterprise software · Product design

Let’s make it better.

Starting something new, growing a startup, or moving an established company forward? I can help shape the product, the systems, and the team behind it.

Two ways in

Cairo--:--

Available for collabs

© 2026 Syd — Sayed Essam

Designing for humans since 2014