Chevrolet (US,CAN)
Role
UI Designer
Timeline
13 Weeks
Tools
Figma
Overview
The team at Dentsu Creative developed an online showroom experience for Chevrolet's new electric vehicles.
The aim was to develop a user-friendly online platform compatible with web, tablet, and mobile devices, allowing dealers to effectively present vehicle information to prospective buyers.
As the lead UI designer, I collaborated closely with the UX director, creative director, and the in-house creative team to build this tool within a 13-week timeframe.
The Chevrolet EV Showroom experience is intended for implementation in Chevrolet dealerships throughout North America.
Style Guide
Throughout the project, I began by utilizing Chevrolet's existing brand guide for their online materials as a starting point for the style guide.
However, since the electric vehicle branding was relatively new, there were inconsistencies in both the branding and design elements specifically for EV. Additionally, there was no pre-existing library available specifically tailored to Chevrolet's electric vehicles.
To overcome this challenge, I meticulously extracted design cues from their website, using it as my primary reference. This allowed me to create a coherent and unified visual identity for the electric vehicle pages, one that felt like Chevrolet EV.
My focus was on establishing a dedicated style guide specifically tailored to the electric vehicle pages, thus ensuring consistency throughout the project. This style guide is now able to be used as a reference for future Chevrolet client work and provides a foundation to build off of for future updates.
Wireframes
Select wireframes from the EV showroom experience (for 1280px screen size) are displayed here, with corresponding interaction design handoffs for developers.
Challenges
One of the key challenges we faced was developing a product that would be primarily compatible with tablets, while still maintaining the distinctive Chevrolet brand.
Our objective was to design responsively, ensuring seamless usability across various devices, and providing users with the flexibility to choose their preferred device for accessing the content. Anticipating potential scenarios faced by dealers, we proactively created solutions in advance. For instance, although the tool was primarily intended for tablet use, we recognized that dealers might opt to use a mobile device to showcase information to their customers in certain situations. To address this, we dedicated effort to designing a mobile interface that prioritized user behavior. We made necessary modifications to enhance navigation, incorporating affordances, utilizing modals to minimize vertical scrolling, and implementing accessibility labels, among other considerations.
Learnings
Collaboration is a central element in agency work!
Upon transitioning from my previous corporate position to an agency, I quickly grasped the disparity in project pace. The agency environment thrived on extensive collaboration, necessitating frequent presentations to both internal teams and clients—a level of exposure that I had not previously encountered while working on larger internal corporate teams.
The opportunity to closely collaborate with the creative director on this project has been immensely valuable, as it has heightened my awareness of the pivotal details that uphold a brand's identity, a crucial aspect when engaging in client projects.
Through this experience, I have honed my ability to articulate precise questions and enhance my communication skills, enabling me to effectively identify and fulfill the needs of the client.