Duration
2 month
Role
Lead UI/UX Designer
Skills
Research
Ideation
Visual Design
Design System
Before diving into the process and design, let's talk about the client and their business goals. Vehaul operates in the U.S. market, connecting car hauler companies with dealers for over five years. Their system, run by 10+ dispatchers, focuses on moving vehicles between locations, earning commission through their dispatching services.
Business Goal
The client had a vision to scale their business and become a player in the industry. They already had a strong network of partner dealers and transporters, who worked with them exclusively. With an established network, their goal was to create a comprehensive digital platform that would streamline operations, attract more partners, and enhance efficiency.
Challenge
The challenge was clear: building a platform for three distinct user types, each with its own set of flows, while integrating seamless payment and control features.
To achieve this, their goal was to create a comprehensive platform where:
Dealers could post cars needing transport, and transporters could book them.
Transporters/dispatchers would manage bookings through a job board.
Administrators could oversee all aspects of the operations.
My Role
I led the design process from research to execution, prioritizing user needs and creating seamless experiences for dealers, transporters, and administrators. Collaborating closely with stakeholders and developers, I ensured the platform was not only functional but also intuitive for users.
Process
1
Research
Conducted competitive analysis and interviews with drivers, shippers, and brokers.
2
Ideation
Mapped user journeys and flows for a streamlined experience.
3
Design
Crafted an intuitive, accessible layout tailored to diverse user needs.
4
Testing
Enhanced usability through iterative user feedback and testing.
To build a platform that stands out in the competitive auto transportation market, I began with comprehensive research and user interviews. Analyzing leading competitors revealed the need for simplicity and clarity, guiding our design approach. Engaging directly with dispatchers, dealers, and the administrator provided deep insights into their needs and pain points, ensuring our platform was both user-friendly and aligned with business objectives.
Competitive Analysis & Market Research
To tackle the challenge of creating a standout platform for Vehaul, I began with an in-depth analysis of the market and competitors. This involved studying leading players like ACV and Central Dispatch to understand their strengths and market presence. My findings revealed that despite their popularity, these platforms often overwhelmed new users with complexity and clutter. This insight highlighted the need for our platform to prioritize simplicity, focusing on essential information and a user-centric design to enhance navigation and usability.
User Interviews
Armed with insights from the competitive analysis, I conducted interviews with key user groups to ensure our platform addressed their specific needs:
Transporters/Dispatchers: I spoke with 6 Vehaul dispatchers to understand their daily routines and challenges. We discussed:
Their core tasks and routines to identify essential features for the job board.
Additional checks and information they needed to access easily.
Problems and frustrations with current platforms.
Desired features missing from existing solutions.
Dealers: I applied the same interview framework to dealers to uncover their needs, pain points, and expectations. This helped us align the platform’s functionality with their workflow and objectives.
Administrators: Collaborating closely with the platform’s sole administrator, who would oversee the platform’s operations, was crucial. We worked together to refine the administrative dashboard, ensuring it was comprehensive yet manageable, and that it addressed all operational aspects effectively. This iterative process was vital for creating a robust backend that supports smooth platform management and oversight.
Insights
The research phase revealed key insights that shaped the platform's design. Competitive analysis highlighted simplicity as a major market gap, with other platforms being overly complex and frustrating for users. This emphasized the need for a streamlined, user-friendly experience on Vehaul, allowing users to focus on tasks without unnecessary distractions.
User interviews revealed distinct needs across the three core user groups:
Transporters/Dispatchers required easy access to essential job board functions, including vehicle listings, route optimization, and real-time status updates. They also wanted an intuitive interface that minimized the number of clicks needed to complete tasks, especially during high-demand periods.
Dealers emphasized the importance of having clear, concise listings and real-time tracking features. They sought a platform that would allow them to manage multiple vehicles seamlessly, post routes quickly, and access relevant information without navigating through a cluttered interface.
Administrators needed a robust, yet manageable dashboard to oversee operations. The key here was balance—while the platform had to offer comprehensive control and monitoring capabilities, it also had to be simple enough to prevent administrative overload.
User Flows
The design process was a continuous cycle of refinement and validation. Leveraging the insights gathered, I created and consistently reviewed user flows with the client and especially dispatchers to ensure the design was aligned with their needs and improved upon previous workflows.
Transporter: Created a streamlined flow for transporters to view, select, and book available jobs with minimal clicks. Focused on clarity and efficiency to ensure quick job management.
Dealer: Designed a straightforward process for dealers to post vehicles and routes, with easy tracking of submissions and status updates.
Administrator: Developed a comprehensive administrative dashboard for monitoring and managing all platform activities, including user management and process oversight.
Sketches
A significant part of my work involved sketching the dashboards, which were crucial for the overall design. This iterative approach, including regular feedback and adjustments, ensured that the design was both functional and user-friendly.
We needed to design three distinct dashboards for dispatchers, dealers, and administrators. Using insights from interviews and research, I focused on addressing two key questions:
"What essential information must see and use daily?"
"What additional features would improve the user experience?"
Based on these questions, I structured the core elements of the platform, starting with the essentials and gradually adding desirable features that could enhance the user experience without overwhelming the interface.
Crafting an efficient and scalable platform required meticulous attention to both user experience and technical feasibility. With multiple types of users and their unique needs, every design decision needed to be thoughtful and purposeful. My focus was on building a cohesive, streamlined design that balanced simplicity with functionality, while ensuring that all users—whether dealers, transporters, or administrators—could effortlessly navigate the platform.
Design system
To manage the complexity of this SaaS platform, I developed a comprehensive design system early in the process. With three distinct user roles and dashboards, a well-structured design system was essential to ensure consistency across all components. Using Figma, I organized tokens, styles, and reusable components that aligned the entire platform, making it easy to maintain a uniform look and feel.
This not only improved the user experience but also significantly optimized the development process, allowing developers to implement the designs more efficiently and with fewer errors.
Dashboards & Forms
The platform’s core experience revolved around well-organized dashboards and intuitive forms. Each dashboard—whether for transporters, dealers, or administrators—was designed to highlight the most important information, ensuring that users could access key features quickly.
The forms were kept simple and direct, but adaptable enough to handle the specific needs of each user type. By focusing on clarity and ease of use, I ensured that even the most complex actions could be completed without friction, helping users stay productive and focused.
The outcome is a modular platform, allowing seamless integration of new features as user needs evolve. To ensure a smooth onboarding experience, we designed key functionalities like the job board and route posting to be activated with minimal setup, drawing inspiration from a similar feature I had developed that boosted user engagement.
From a business standpoint, the platform's scalability offers a competitive advantage. It supports higher-tier service plans by streamlining operational tasks, such as dispatching and managing logistics, freeing up time for strategic activities like route planning. This delivers immediate value to Vehaul's customers while strengthening its positioning in the market as a time-saving and resource-efficient solution.
