← All work

Case 01

DriveNow

Redesigning a complex car rental booking flow to reduce friction and help users decide faster.

Role
UX/UI Designer
Context
UX Design Institute diploma
Year
2025
Platform
iOS mobile app
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Miro
01
Case 01
Drive
Now
Mobile app2025
DriveNow search screen

Summary

Problem

Users found booking a car confusing and slow. Location, dates and times were hard to scan, and too many steps created friction from the very first screen.

Solution

A clearer, structured booking flow: related information grouped together, simplified inputs and labels, and supporting icons for faster completion.

Outcome

Less to think about on the first screen. A second round of usability testing confirmed it, and led to a few small fixes.

Overview

My process

This was my diploma project at UX Design Institute. I took it through the full UX cycle, from studying the audience and competitor sites to testing a working prototype and fixing what came up.

Discover

Research & usability testing

I started by looking at the target audience and existing car rental sites, then ran exploratory usability tests with interviews to understand common booking frustrations.

Key findings

  • Users focused on finding a suitable car but were distracted by excessive information and optional extras.
  • Booking terminology was hard to understand, which slowed decision-making.
  • Users preferred a simple layout that highlighted key actions and booking details.

I grouped all observations with affinity mapping, which revealed the main problem areas and guided the design decisions below.

Screen recording from a usability test of an existing car rental app
Usability testing of an existing car rental app. Dense car cards and extras fought for attention.
Problem 1

Too much information

  • Many options and add-ons increased cognitive load.
  • Content was hard to scan quickly.
  • The main booking screen felt cluttered.
Solution

Simplify & prioritise

  • Prioritised essential booking information.
  • Removed visual clutter and distractions.
  • Reorganised add-ons into clear sections.

Result: people found what they needed faster.

Problem 2

Confusing terminology

  • Some labels and booking terms were unclear.
  • Technical language slowed decisions.
Solution

Plain-language labels

  • Replaced technical terms with clear, user-friendly language.
  • Made labels consistent across the interface.

Result: users understood the process faster and more confidently.

Define

User flow & journeys

I mapped the journey from car search to checkout to find friction points, unnecessary steps and moments where users felt overwhelmed. A customer journey map added how people felt at each stage and where it went wrong for them.

  • Friction showed up early. Choosing location, dates and time on one screen felt like too much.
  • Filtering and insurance terminology caused confusion.
  • Car selection and add-ons increased cognitive load.
  • Users needed clearer structure and prioritised information.
User flow diagram in FigJam
User flow for the scenario: rent an automatic car with pick-up and drop-off at Heathrow.
Full user flow ↗ Affinity & journey map ↗
Ideate

Sketches

Low-fidelity sketches let me quickly explore different ways to structure the main booking screen. I focused on the problems from testing: too much information, a confusing path and actions that were hard to spot.

Paper sketches of the booking screen
Early paper sketches of the search screen and location input.
Design

Wireframes

In Figma, I turned the sketches into wireframes to structure the flow around user behaviour, improve hierarchy and make key actions easy to find.

Wireframe: search Wireframe: car list Wireframe: car details Wireframe: checkout
Final design

Try the prototype

The mid-fidelity prototype brings the redesigned flow together. Click through it below, from search to checkout.

Interactive Figma prototype Open full screen ↗
Test

Validation & iterations

After iterating on the first insights, I ran a second round of testing to make sure the updated flow was clear. Small interaction details turned out to matter most.

Problem

Limited time scrolling

  • Users couldn't scroll through all time options, so the selection felt restricted.
Solution

Full, accessible scroll

  • Added spacing above and below the list.
  • Enabled scrolling through every time value.

Result: all times visible and selectable without confusion.

Problem

Wrong keyboard types

  • Some fields triggered keyboards that didn't match the input.
Solution

Context-specific keyboards

  • Numeric keyboard for number fields.
  • Email keyboard with "@" for email inputs.

Result: faster form completion.

Three design iterations: time picker, numeric keyboard, email keyboard
Three iterations based on validation testing.
Impact

Why it matters

For users

  • Easier booking experience
  • Less cognitive load
  • Clearer terminology
  • Faster decision-making

For the business

  • Fewer drop-off points in booking
  • Higher likelihood of completion
  • More user confidence and trust
  • Faster path from search to checkout
Reflection

What I learned

Users had every feature they needed. They struggled because the screens showed too much at once. Plain words and a clear order of information did more for them than any new feature would have.

I also learned to check my decisions with users early. Small things like the time scroll and keyboard types changed how the whole flow felt.

Next steps

  • Test with a larger group of participants.
  • Find any remaining friction points in the flow.
  • Improve car comparison and filtering for faster decisions.
  • Measure task completion and user confidence with the new flow.
User researchUsability testingAffinity mappingJourney mappingWireframingPrototypingMobile UX