I joined D-Ford, which was the newly formed human-centered design organization at Ford in October 2019 when it first launched globally.
Most of my work at D-Ford is confidential, please reach out if you'd like to know more about it.
Find the skills I brought to the role below.
Most of my work at D-Ford is confidential, please reach out if you'd like to know more about it.
Find the skills I brought to the role below.
My role and contribution
As a user experience designer in the Prototyping team, I brought my design thinking expertise to technical teams and technical experience to design teams. I was tasked with designing Ford's future products and services across hardware and software domains and prototyping future concepts for testing and communication.
I completed 10+ projects and worked closely with the Design Studio as a human-centered design expert, representing D-Ford. I also secured a unique IP for Ford with 8 pending patents and 2 granted.
Below is a brief summary of some of the projects I worked on.
lEVEL-3 AUTONOMY EXPERIENCE NARRATIVES
This project aimed to inform new experiences and use cases afforded by L3 autonomy.
ROLE
Define & Ideate
- Define future user journeys for both commercial and retail customer
- Designing concepts and UX flows for three key challenges:
Building trust - how might we build trust with an autonomous machine and passengers and bystanders?
Mode awareness - How should the HMI clearly communicate to the driver what level of autonomy it's currently on to build trust?
And transitions - How will the HMI transition through the different levels of autonomy?
- Conceptualizing additional affordances for the L3 hardware suite
- Define future user journeys for both commercial and retail customer
- Designing concepts and UX flows for three key challenges:
Building trust - how might we build trust with an autonomous machine and passengers and bystanders?
Mode awareness - How should the HMI clearly communicate to the driver what level of autonomy it's currently on to build trust?
And transitions - How will the HMI transition through the different levels of autonomy?
- Conceptualizing additional affordances for the L3 hardware suite
Delivery
- Future user journey maps and use cases
- UI Prototypes
- Storytelling of concepts and user journeys in the form of short videos and animations
- Future user journey maps and use cases
- UI Prototypes
- Storytelling of concepts and user journeys in the form of short videos and animations
PROJECT OUTCOME
An ongoing project meant to inform upstream L3 strategy
EV PICK-UP 2025
I was embedded in the design studio for this project as a user-experience designer. I designed 10+ digital and physical features for different aspects of the truck, including the bed, interior features, and the frunk.
ROLE
Define & Ideate
- Define current and future User journeys for both commercial and retail customer
- Ideation and brainstorming with 5+ partner teams across the organization with 100+ stakeholders.
- Role-playing to unearth user pain points.
- Define current and future User journeys for both commercial and retail customer
- Ideation and brainstorming with 5+ partner teams across the organization with 100+ stakeholders.
- Role-playing to unearth user pain points.
Delivery
- New feature concepts for both UI and physical domains
- Industrial design of new utility features
- Full-scale interactive prototypes
- New feature concepts for both UI and physical domains
- Industrial design of new utility features
- Full-scale interactive prototypes
PROJECT OUTCOME
- Identified pain points and opportunity areas for innovation and improving user experience
- Created 100+ feature concepts for the identified opportunity areas.
- Delivered working prototypes for better alignment across multiple partner teams
- Handoff to various partner teams on the program
- Filed for two patents
- Created 100+ feature concepts for the identified opportunity areas.
- Delivered working prototypes for better alignment across multiple partner teams
- Handoff to various partner teams on the program
- Filed for two patents
2030 ADVENTURE CONCEPT VEHICLE
Design a 2030 vision concept adventurer to be showcased to the public in 2024. D-Ford worked in close collaboration with the design studio along with C-level executives for his project. I designed a novel exterior panel deployment experience and supported my team on tech enablers and mapping trends in emerging technology.
ROLE
Define & Ideate
- Ideation and brainstorming with partner teams
- Defining user journeys
- Concept design
- Support teams with technology enablers
- Ideation and brainstorming with partner teams
- Defining user journeys
- Concept design
- Support teams with technology enablers
Delivery
- New feature concepts for modular and deployable exterior panels
- Full-scale interactive prototypes
- New feature concepts for modular and deployable exterior panels
- Full-scale interactive prototypes
PROJECT OUTCOME
- Designed user experience for a modular exterior panel deployment concept.
- Delivered a proof of concept working prototype
- Delivered a proof of concept working prototype
FINDING oPPORTUNITIES FOR FORD IN the LAST MILE in North America
Understand and capture compelling solution areas for US last-mile parcel delivery informed by customer research, emerging technology research at Ford, and its impact on current programs. Through the human-centered design process, provide subsequent teams and FordPro leadership with an informed point of view (POV) to support direct work with customers.
ROLE
Immersion
Creating provocations for research
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Creating provocations for research
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Define & Ideate
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Delivery
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Future state journey maps
Strategy deck
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Future state journey maps
Strategy deck
PROJECT IMPACT
- Concepts informed design direction on various programs.
- Built a strong UX framework for Ford robotics technologies
- The project served as a tool to engage a large customer
- Concepts spun off into separate projects with various partner teams
- Secured 2 patents
- Built a strong UX framework for Ford robotics technologies
- The project served as a tool to engage a large customer
- Concepts spun off into separate projects with various partner teams
- Secured 2 patents
Improving job site safety for a major company in the infrastructure industry
Ford Pro was initiated with the goal of working hand in hand with commercial customers to articulate challenges, discover opportunities to take advantage of Ford’s connected ecosystem of products and services and share Ford’s expertise in commercial transportation to support customers' success.
ROLE
Immersion
Creating provocations for research
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Creating provocations for research
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Define & Ideate
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Mapping emerging technology landscape
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Mapping emerging technology landscape
Delivery
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Future state journey and Storytelling
Video and animation
Concept design
Strategy deck
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Future state journey and Storytelling
Video and animation
Concept design
Strategy deck
PROJECT OUTCOME
Opportunities and Concepts from this project were prioritized according to Ford's commercial business strategy and were used as input into other vocational sprints. The team also socialized with R&D teams to share commercial use cases, scenarios, and prevocational ideas to figure out the feasibility and viability of the concepts
FORD EXPLORER ACCESSORIES STRATEGY
Identify opportunity areas for accessorization for the Ford Explorer. The project took into consideration the Explorer customer, understanding their key activity areas and developing an accessory ecosystem to extend the adventure.
ROLE
Immersion
Understand the customer
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Understand the customer
Listen in on user interviews to understand the context firsthand
Secondary research
Define & Ideate
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Ecosystem maps
User journeys
Facilitating ideation and prototyping workshops
Delivery
Design concepts and prototypes
Strategy deck
Design concepts and prototypes
Strategy deck
PROJECT OUTCOME
- Presented to senior executives
- Informed upstream accessories strategy
- Filed 2 patents
- Informed upstream accessories strategy
- Filed 2 patents
Ford Edge 2023 (discontinued)
Understand the Ford Edge customer, and based on identified customer needs develop unique physical and digital features. Design solutions for driver assist features (DAT), intelligent storage solutions for both secured and unsecured storage, and features to improve the social experience around the vehicle. Develop prototypes to share with partner and program teams.
ROLE
Define & Ideate
User journeys
Ideation and brainstorming sessions
User journeys
Ideation and brainstorming sessions
Delivery
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Full-scale interactive prototype
Design assets for both UI and physical concepts
Full-scale interactive prototype
OUTCOME
- Created 100+ concepts for the identified opportunity areas.
- Prototyped all the selected concepts on a full-scale vehicle model.
- Presented the concepts and prototypes to the President of Ford North America.
- Concepts got absorbed into several different at Ford.
- Secured 2 patents.
- Prototyped all the selected concepts on a full-scale vehicle model.
- Presented the concepts and prototypes to the President of Ford North America.
- Concepts got absorbed into several different at Ford.
- Secured 2 patents.
