Our client, Smart Europe (via Accenture), set out on a mission to create the most seamless and intuitive way for their customers to order and receive their electric cars—just as easily as ordering food or shoes online.

I initially joined as a UX Designer, focusing on the Pre-order, Sign-up, My Account, and Finance Calculator flows. I was later promoted to Design Lead, where I led a team responsible for the most complex user flow: Checkout.

My activities

UX Research
User Interviews 
Stakeholder Interviews
Design Reviews
Journey Mapping
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Testing
Competitor Analysis
Design Planning

My roles

Design Lead
Sr. Product Designer 

Duration

2021 - 2022

Voucher line detail page

Buying a car.

The challenge

Buying a car is a significant life decision, typically made only once or a few times in a lifetime. The process is typically long and complex, often requiring months of research or physical visits to dealerships before a final choice is made.

Smart Europe aimed to change this by creating a new digital eCommerce experience that allows customers to order a car and have it delivered in just a few clicks—exactly three steps to complete the purchase.

Three steps to pre-order

Where to start?

The beginnings

Before starting any design work, we needed to gain a deep understanding of our client, Smart, the EV (Electric Vehicle) market, and our Accenture colleagues, who supported us in roles ranging from Business Analysts to our Cross-functional Product Team Leader.

As we entered the Discovery phase, we began with generative (exploratory) research. My UX Design colleague and I conducted user interviews to understand current customers of the Smart, supported by stakeholder interviews and competitive analysis. This combination provided key insights into user behavior and business goals, leading us to focus on the Pre-order flow.

Smart's design process

How did we get to the Pre-order?

Pre-order

One of the first important flows that the client wanted to release was the Pre-order, which allowed users to reserve their spot. My colleague and I were tasked with designing and testing the Pre-order flow using a mobile-first approach, which played a crucial role in helping our client understand customer interest in the new Smart car. The data collected later helped shape key future business decisions.

Since an account was essential for users to proceed, we first focused on building the Sign-up flow as a foundation, along with Self-service (My Account), following best sign-up practices. With these foundations in place, we moved on to Pre-order, enabling users to reserve their spot and be among the first in the world to order the brand-new Smart #1 after its World Premiere.

Pre-order, Smart ID and My Account wireframes

What next?

Usability testing

After receiving business approval for our low-fidelity wireframes, we created a fully interactive prototype built on the new design system. We began by defining our main research objectives in collaboration with Ipsos.

Main objective
To gain early admission to Smart's online SUV launch in December, shoppers have the option to purchase a pre-order voucher worth €500. To do so, they must complete a series of steps.

We need to frame pre-order differently.

Key insights

Some of the most valuable insights from our usability testing showed that we needed to rethink how we framed the Pre-order flow and clarify what Pre-order truly meant to customers. To better understand their expectations, we asked participants, before starting the prototype test, to describe what pre-ordering a car meant to them.

All participants responded with the same definition: 'buying a car that is not yet available for delivery'. This led us to an iterative process of updating wireframes based on insights and retesting, ultimately resulting in a successful iteration with a fully interactive prototype that facilitated a smooth handover and release.

World Premiere

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