Helen West

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Helen West

Helping people find the right MINI

Role

UX designer

Discipline

UX design & research

As a UX Designer at AKQA, I designed a unified product finder for MINI, bringing browsing and searching together to help customers explore, filter and compare models before choosing a car to configure.

Mobile on desk showing screen of finance app

01. Project overview

The challenge

MINI's website had separate tools for browsing and searching for cars. The challenge was to combine these into a single experience that supported different customer journeys, provided multiple entry points into the configurator and catered to an expanding product catalogue.

My role

I was responsible for the UX design of the new product finder, balancing customer needs with MINI's complex product catalogue. I worked closely with the senior visual designer to refine the user experience and shape the final design.

The solution

A unified product finder that displayed the entire MINI range in a scannable grid, balancing an overview of available models with key specifications. Customers could browse, compare and filter cars against their preferences to help narrow their choices.

02. From research to design

Understanding buyers

Surveyed car buyers to understand their priorities and the information they needed to make decisions.

Mapping the journeys

Reviewed MINI and competitor sites to identify key entry points and map customer journeys.

Exploring concepts

Explored ways to present the full MINI range while supporting browsing, comparison and filtering.

Developing the solution

Created annotated wireframes, presented the solution to the client and supported the final visual design.

03. Selected work

Mapping the journeys
Early concepts
Exploring interactions
Model range overview
Designing the filters
Narrowing the range

Mapping the journeys
Early concepts
Exploring interactions
Model range overview
Designing the filters
Narrowing the range

04. The solution

A unified view of the range

A single, scannable grid brought the entire MINI catalogue together, allowing customers to explore models and compare key specifications at a glance.

Filtering by preference

Filters for price, performance, fuel consumption and other criteria helped customers narrow their choices. Non-matching models could be highlighted or hidden.

Multiple routes to configuration

Customers could browse the range, filter models to find the right car or navigate directly to their preferred model before entering the configurator.

05. The outcome

Design principles carried forward

The proposed solution was well received by MINI, who wanted to retain its underlying design principles in the next phase of work: a full, next-generation redesign of their digital experience.

Helen West

Helen West

Helping people find the right MINI

Helping people find the right MINI

Helping people find the right MINI