A Trusted Marketplace for Dismantled Vehicle Parts & Scrap.
ReAuto
Design Role
UI/UX Design Intern
Industry
Automotive, E-commerce
Team
4 Members
Timeline
6 Months
Client Work – Visuals & Branding Altered
This case study reflects my design contributions during an internship. Client details have been anonymised.
My Role
I contributed to this project as a UX/UI Design Intern, working end-to-end from client briefing to developer handoff. I collaborated closely with a senior designer, project lead, PM, client stakeholders, and developers. This was my primary project during my internship and graduation because of its scale and complexity. I didn’t just handle isolated tasks — I helped build the platform from scratch alongside my senior, gaining real experience as a junior designer. My work included competitor analysis, information architecture, the design system, wireframes, high-fidelity responsive screens, interactive prototypes, developer handoffs, presentations, and client meetings.
About The Project
Client Brief & Context
ReAuto (a major automotive company) approached us to build a digital platform — an online marketplace for selling reusable parts and scrap extracted from dismantled vehicles. They wanted us to design the entire platform from the ground up, covering both sides: the buyer portal and the seller/admin portal. Our scope included defining the structure, designing a full-fledged responsive experience, creating developer-ready design notes, and providing design support through handoff.
A Little Background Story — Why They Wanted This Platform
ReAuto already has a platform for depolluting and dismantling commercial and passenger vehicles (CV and PV). Currently, the reusable parts extracted after evaluation are sold through local sales channels like spare parts dealers or general online marketplaces like OLX. To strengthen their circular economy efforts and expand sustainability goals, ReAuto wanted to build a centralized digital marketplace dedicated to selling these used parts and scrap more efficiently and transparently.
Solution
A centralized digital marketplace that connects RVSF sellers with B2B and B2C buyers to purchase reused and refurbished parts and scrap. Buyers can easily find used parts from different brands, for all types of vehicles — in one trusted platform.
Below: A snapshot of core screens showcasing key flows and pages.
Design Process: From Vision to Real Screens
We began by understanding the client’s vision, the different user groups, their pain points, and the early user flows and features they wanted to introduce. These were shared with us during the initial client presentations. If you’ve made it this far in the case study, I’m guessing you already have a sense of the client’s goals from the earlier About the Project section.
Research & Competitive Benchmarking
Understanding who we’re designing for was a crucial first step in creating a meaningful user experience. This helped us learn about the behaviours and thought patterns of the people who will actually use this platform.
The key user groups:
Part Buyers: Individuals, fleet owners, used part experts, workshop/garage owners, and international part traders.
Scrap Buyers: End-product manufacturers.
Some of the pain points identified:
Poor part availability
Limited trust in sellers and lack of quality information
Little protection from part failure
Legal compliance challenges
No clear part quality assessment
Inefficient part discovery
Once we understood our users, I was tasked with analysing competitors to see how they operate — including their user flows, visual design, and strengths and weaknesses. This helped us learn what to avoid and what we could do better to make ReAuto stand out and genuinely delight users — which is what every UX designer aims for!
Some of the competitors we looked at were Cars24, ScrapZo, Boodmo, Mercedes Benz (certified parts), and BParts. These weren’t all direct competitors — some focused more on parts selling, others on scrap — but they gave us valuable reference points for what works and what doesn’t.
Structuring the IA
Conducting the competitor analysis helped us understand how similar platforms structure their flows and key functionalities. Revisiting our notes from the client’s initial presentation also helped us align with their vision and requirements. We then brainstormed on top of these insights to structure the user flows and build the information architecture for the platform.
Let’s Take a Look at the Journey — From IA to Visual Design
After structuring the information architecture, we had a clear idea of the content and information each page would include. This gave us a solid base to start creating wireframes for the key screens. We used these wireframes to share our approach with the client and discuss how the final visual design would take shape.
Once we got approval to move forward with the structure, we quickly started working on creating the design system, keeping the brand guidelines provided by the client in mind.
The Final Look — Screens & Features
For this case study, I’m sharing only the key flows, features, and main pages. So let’s not wait any longer — let’s dive right in!
Search Made Easy
How you execute the search feature is one of the most important aspects of any e-commerce platform — especially for a complex marketplace like an automotive used parts and scrap seller. If not done well, it can seriously affect the user experience. We kept this top of mind and focused on how to make finding products as easy and intuitive as possible. In this platform, there are two ways for users to search for used parts and scrap.
Global Search with Smart Suggestions
Users can search by part name, vehicle model, scrap type, or category. For a platform like ReAuto, with so many categories and details, smart suggestions help reduce cognitive load and save time. Users don’t need to remember exact keywords — the system guides them, improving product discoverability and preventing frustration, which was a key pain point found in the client’s research.
Guided Search with Smart Suggestions
By Registration Number: Users can find the right used parts by entering their vehicle’s registration number. ReAuto uses licensed VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) decoding and fitment databases to map the registration number to the VIN, then match it to the exact parts catalog. The system then asks the user to confirm their vehicle details, helping them see only compatible parts. This builds trust and reduces errors — especially for users who may not know their exact brand, model, or manufacturing year.
By Brand, Model, Mfg & Variant: Users can also search by manually selecting or typing the brand and other details from a dropdown. When the user chooses the brand, the system automatically narrows down matching models, manufacturing years, and variants. This guided flow reduces cognitive load and makes finding the right parts simple and quick.
Clear Category Levels — No Endless Scrolling
Clear category levels to help users feel less overwhelmed, speed up their decision-making, and make the site easier and more pleasant to shop from. Placing these categories at the top of the PLP (Product Listing Page) reduces the effort of going back to the main menu — instead, users can quickly switch between related categories with one click. This improves findability and supports different shopping mindsets.
PDP & Compatibility
The client specified that the viewport height was 630 px, so we intentionally designed the Product Detail Page (PDP) using a three-column grid layout. This ensures that users can access all key information upfront without needing to scroll, making the page easy to scan. This clear, accessible layout supports higher conversions by helping users see → understand → act — all within their natural eye level.
Now, let’s look at the compatibility feature
This feature helps users check if the used spare part they’re viewing on the PDP is compatible with their vehicle — and shows which other vehicles the part also fits. This is shown in a simple list. Users can check compatibility by entering their registration number or by selecting their vehicle details (brand, model, manufacturing year, and variant).
If a user has already added a car in My Garage (a feature that lets users save their vehicle details under My Account), the PDP automatically shows whether the part is compatible — no extra steps needed.
So far, we’ve only talked about used parts — let’s talk about scrap now.
What is scrap?
Scrap refers to waste material that still has value because it can be recycled, reused, or reprocessed into new products or raw materials. It’s often metal (like aluminium, copper, steel, brass, or iron) but can also include plastic, paper, rubber, or electronic waste. ReAuto sources this scrap by dismantling old vehicles.
This platform is primarily designed for selling used spare parts, but it also allows users to buy scrap, since about 90% of the users will focus on used parts and around 10% will buy scrap — according to the client.
Since scrap is sold in bulk (while used parts are sold individually, each being unique), the scrap product cards on the PLP are designed differently. Users can choose the quantity directly on the listing page because scrap buyers usually know exactly what they want and often buy in bulk. This decision was made to encourage faster shopping for repeat and bulk buyers.
Currently, scrap can only be bought through store pickup (while used parts can be delivered or picked up in-store). For phase one, there is no auction process — users book the scrap online, pay a booking amount, then visit the nearest RVSF store to pick it up and pay the remaining balance on-site.
Smart Checkout for Mixed Orders
Not every product is available for both delivery and store pickup — it depends on the seller. A user could have a cart with items that can only be delivered and items that can only be picked up in store, which made creating a seamless checkout experience genuinely complex.
We split the order into delivery and pickup groups within the same cart — so users could complete one checkout without being forced to place separate orders, while still seeing clearly which items would arrive and which needed to be collected in store. This kept the experience simple for the user while handling the complexity behind the scenes.
Designing for All Devices
Since ReAuto is a large-scale B2B/B2C platform, it needed to work seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile. We carefully adapted layouts, flows, and components to keep everything clear and user-friendly on all screen sizes, ensuring a consistent experience throughout.
Here, I’m sharing key screens that show how we translated the design from desktop to mobile. The tablet version is a scaled-down version of the desktop, so I haven’t included that here.
Home page
Product Listing Page
Product Detail Page
Wrapping Up
By the end of my internship, the design was fully handed off to the development team — complete with annotated specs, developer notes, and interactive prototypes for all key flows. The handoff was in progress when my internship concluded, so I don't have visibility into what shipped post that — but the design was production-ready.
What I took away from this
ReAuto was my first real taste of designing for industry. It taught me how the skills I built in college actually translate — and where the gaps are. Working on a product this complex pushed me to think about structure, edge cases, and systems in a way academic projects never did. I learned how to navigate client feedback, align with a PM, build a design system from scratch, and solve problems I'd never encountered before. More than any single skill, I left with a clearer understanding of what it means to design responsibly for real users.
What I'd do differently
Looking back, I'd push myself harder on the visual design side. The UX thinking and structure I'm proud of — but there's room to make the UI more refined and distinctive. That's something I'm actively working on.
