Reimagining the Road Ahead: Redesigning Hertz NeverLost to Transform Chaos into Confidence
Prototype: Provide on interview due to content sensitivity.
Role: Lead UX/UI Designer
Platform: In-vehicle embedded system + Companion Mobile App
Duration: 12 months
Tools: Figma, Miro, Jira, Usertesting.com, Zeplin, Google Analytics, Adobe XD, Confluence, Microsoft Teams.
Hertz faced a critical challenge with its NeverLost® navigation system: how to transform a dated, underutilized in-car GPS into a modern, trustworthy travel companion for drivers navigating unfamiliar roads and cities. Unlike consumer apps such as Google Maps or Waze, rental car customers had no loyalty to the platform and little patience for clunky interfaces—they were time-crunched, often stressed, and skeptical the system could meet their needs. At the same time, the design had to operate within the constraints of embedded vehicle hardware while maintaining cohesion with Hertz’s broader digital ecosystem. Every interaction, from searching for a destination to recalculating a route, had to feel seamless, safe, and reliable—even under spotty connectivity. The challenge wasn’t just about updating maps; it was about reimagining the entire in-car experience to reduce anxiety, build confidence, and turn a once-overlooked tool into a core part of Hertz’s customer journey.
Empathize – Understanding the Driver's Frustration
I began by riding along with rental customers, observing how they interacted with the outdated NeverLost device. The experience quickly revealed pain points: confusing menus, lagging navigation, and the inability to sync with modern expectations shaped by smartphones. Drivers wanted clarity and speed, but instead faced friction at every turn.
To dig deeper, I conducted interviews and diary studies with frequent renters. Themes emerged around simplicity and trust users needed directions they could rely on in unfamiliar cities. These insights defined the foundation of the redesign: cut through clutter, prioritize legibility, and ensure the device always kept pace with the road.
Digging into Competition and Emerging Behaviors
I began by dissecting the competitive landscape by studying devices like Garmin, TomTom, and built-in automotive systems—to uncover where NeverLost lagged behind. Through unboxing flows, setup reviews, and real-time usage, I identified pain points in accessibility, pacing, and syncing. Market trend analysis revealed that travelers increasingly expected smartphone-level performance from in-car navigation devices, with seamless updates and predictive routing.
In parallel, I ran diary studies and conducted usability audits with frequent renters. Participants documented frustrations around lagging directions, confusing menus, and disjointed handoffs between mobile and the device. These studies revealed a recurring theme: drivers needed speed, clarity, and contextual awareness while on the move. Research made it clear that NeverLost needed to evolve from a static GPS tool into a dynamic travel companion, one that kept pace with shifting user behaviors and market expectations.
Analysis & Planning – From Insights to Actionable Blueprints
Armed with research insights, I mapped the renter’s end-to-end journey: reservation, pickup, driving, and return. This blueprint exposed moments where drivers felt lost, stressed, or disengaged. By translating real pain points into structured flows, I identified where the device needed to simplify decision-making, clarify feedback, and anticipate common roadblocks like wrong turns or poor connectivity.
I worked with product and engineering to prioritize features into a clear hierarchy by critical functions like search, turn-by-turn guidance, and recalculation rose to the top, while advanced tools became secondary layers. Personas guided prioritization, ensuring casual travelers and power users alike were represented. This stage set the foundation for wireframes, creating a shared blueprint that aligned business goals with renter needs.
Wireframing – Sketching Navigation for Real-World Use
With blueprints in place, I moved into low-fidelity wireframes to test ideas quickly. I stripped away polish and focused on raw usability: legible type, clear hierarchy, and minimal clutter. Each wireframe was tested against the realities of driving: could a user glance at the screen and instantly understand the next action without breaking concentration?
I explored both core flows (search, start/stop navigation, turn-by-turn prompts) and edge cases (signal loss, rerouting, low battery). Wireframes gave stakeholders and engineers a tangible way to evaluate logic paths early. By prioritizing speed and clarity, I validated foundational interactions before committing to high-fidelity designs, ensuring the experience was grounded in real driving conditions.
Design Systems – Creating a Consistent Language for Navigation
Once the core flows were validated, I developed a design system tailored for in-car navigation. Typography, color, and iconography were structured into tokens and components, ensuring consistency across the device and companion app. Each choice was tested for real-world driving conditions: glare, quick glances, and high-stress environments.
The system wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about reliability. High-contrast colors supported legibility in sunlight. Simplified icons minimized cognitive load. Haptic confirmations reassured drivers without distraction. This scalable system allowed engineers to move faster, gave stakeholders confidence in brand consistency, and ultimately ensured renters trusted NeverLost every time they got behind the wheel.
Design – Bringing the Experience to Life
With the design system established, I translated patterns into high-fidelity screens optimized for in-car use. Every element was stress-tested against real driving scenarios: readability in sunlight, glanceable stats, and interaction under pressure. The focus wasn’t aesthetics alone—it was designing a tool that gave renters confidence in unfamiliar environments.
The design extended beyond the in-car device to companion touchpoints. The dashboard prioritized essentials—turn-by-turn directions, ETA, and lane guidance—while the mobile companion app surfaced trip history, favorites, and predictive routing. Together, they formed a connected ecosystem that minimized stress and turned the NeverLost into a trusted co-pilot for every trip.
Prototyping – Testing the Experience in Motion
Once the designs were solidified, I built interactive prototypes in Figma to bring the experience to life. These prototypes simulated real driving scenarios, from quick menu navigation to turn-by-turn guidance. They gave stakeholders and engineers a realistic sense of how renters would interact with the device mid-journey, long before development began.
Prototypes were tested in simulated environments and live ride-alongs. This revealed how quickly drivers could access critical features under stress, whether haptic cues improved confidence, and how the system handled error states like rerouting or low battery. Iterating on these prototypes reduced risk, accelerated engineering alignment, and ensured the product worked in the real world.
Testing – Validating in the Field
To ensure the system held up under real driving conditions, I conducted moderated usability sessions with renters in both simulators and live vehicles. We measured how quickly users accessed navigation, how they reacted to haptic cues, and whether the interface reduced stress in unfamiliar environments.
Testing surfaced critical refinements: button misfires during bumpy roads, unclear recovery flows when rerouting, and distraction triggers caused by too many menu layers. Iterating on these insights streamlined the experience, giving drivers faster access to essentials, clearer recovery paths, and a stronger sense of confidence behind the wheel.
Launch – Bringing NeverLost 6 Back to Market
After multiple rounds of prototyping and testing, NeverLost 6 was prepared for launch across Hertz’s rental fleet. I collaborated closely with engineering, product, and marketing to ensure design intent carried through development. Launch materials highlighted simplicity, speed, and reliability, while training sessions equipped staff to introduce the redesigned experience to renters.
The rollout prioritized high-traffic airports and business hubs, where renters demanded clarity and efficiency most. Feedback from these early launches confirmed that streamlined flows reduced confusion, while high-contrast visuals and simplified menus improved trust. Drivers reported a smoother navigation experience, validating the design principles and building momentum for global fleet adoption.
Iteration – Evolving Beyond the Launch
The launch was not the finish line, it was the start of a continuous cycle of improvement. Post-launch, I collaborated with Hertz to collect renter feedback through surveys, ride-alongs, and customer support logs. This ongoing data surfaced new edge cases and evolving traveler needs that weren’t fully visible during initial testing.
Insights led to small but impactful refinements: simplifying the settings menu, improving recalculation speed, and introducing clearer visual alerts for detours. Each iteration reinforced trust and kept the system aligned with real-world use. By treating NeverLost 6 as a living product, the design remained resilient, adaptive, and renter-focused.
