Car Next Door’s transformation to Uber Carshare
Redesigning the entire Car Next Door app with the Uber Carshare Design System
Overview
Car Next Door is an Australian car-sharing startup which was acquired by Uber in January 2022. After the Car Next Door Design System update to match Uber’s look and feel was completed, the next step was to redesign all the screens with the new Design System and make any small improvements along the way.
Problem
Since Car Next Door’s primary focus had been growth for many years, new feature builds took the main stage and fixing old minor bugs and imperfect but working user experience were left in the backlog. With the knowledge of redesigning the whole app, it was felt that this would be the ideal time to fix these issues and create a new Vehicle owner app at the same time.
Solution
I first needed to identify every single screen on the app, to do this, I created an app site map which showed all of the screens and how they link with each other. I then collected all new improvement and bug fix requests from various functions of the business and prioritised it with the Product Manager and Engineering Manager.
My role
I led the redesigning of many of the app screens, especially the new owner app. At the time, owner features were only available on the web. My role involved working closely with Product Design, Context Design, UX Research and Engineering teams to ensure the new designs met the desired outcome and addressed all use cases. Once the designs were approved, I worked closely with the engineers to develop and test each screen.
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App site map
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Discovery
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Designs
App site map
First step in redesigning all the screens was to understand what needed to be designed. I created an app site map document which showed every app screen and its connection to each other. Shown below is the latest version in the Uber branding. This document became very useful later down the track in educating staff on the app and finding documents associated with the feature.
Discovery
I collected new feature ideas, existing feature improvement ideas and bug fix requests from various functions of the business. We graded each request / bug and prioritise them. Since Uber wanted the app done on a tight deadline, a lot of the items ended up being incomplete at the time of launch and we kept working through the features to bring frequent updates.
Designs
I illustrated each feature with before and after as well as flows to best communicate with the engineering team on the requirements, this ensured a smooth development process. Below are some before and after examples of the screens.
Reflection
I really enjoyed redesigning these screens, it gave me a good sense of the app and the Car Next Door ecosystem, after the project I felt like I understood the product deeply. I also learned a lot about how best to work with engineers and get quick results, as always, communication is key at every stage. It was also great to see all the screens I designed come to life as I was told in an agency environment that is not always the case.
See more of my work:
