Ikon Connect
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
Aug 2023 - May 2024
As the Lead Product Designer, I transformed a passive security device into a tool that actually connects drivers with their dealerships. I designed the complete experience—including the mobile app and marketing website—to help the company shift its focus from selling hardware to building long-term customer relationships.
Setting up new Brand Guidelines
Ikon Technologies is a leader in vehicle theft protection. However, the existing product was a "silent" utility—users only engaged with it during a crisis. To drive long-term customer loyalty and strengthen the value proposition for dealerships, we needed to pivot. I led the end-to-end design of a B2B2C mobile platform aimed at increasing customer retention through in-app service booking, maintenance reminders, and driving insights. This project successfully validated the strategic shift from selling hardware to providing lifecycle software.
Solution & Impact
Built a component-based library (Atomic Design) in Figma, utilizing Design Tokens for color, typography, and spacing. This architecture was critical for enabling the "White-Label Engine" to programmatically re-skin the app for different dealers
From 800+ apps to 1 app
Historically, we created a separate white-label app for every single dealership we signed. This meant engineering had to maintain over 800 distinct codebases. It was unscalable. If we wanted to release one feature, we had to push it 800 times
Solution & Impact
I developed a dynamic adapts the UI branding—colors and logos, based on the user's active vehicle in their "Garage." This ensures the experience feels bespoke to the specific dealer while operating on a shared, efficient codebase.
Unifying Experience
Vehicle owners currently struggle with a disjointed digital experience. Managing high-value assets—like tracking multiple vehicle locations and digital key access—often requires switching between different apps. Furthermore, when it's time for maintenance or an upgrade, the transition from "owning" to "shopping" is a friction-filled jump to a separate dealership website, leading to a loss of user engagement and data continuity.
Solution & Impact
We developed a centralized automotive dashboard that merges real-time telemetry with a direct-to-consumer dealership experience.
Contextual Control: Tapping a vehicle allows them to quickly get key insights, as well as directions to their vehicle, report stolen, and view trips.
Integrated Ecosystem: An in-app dealership portal that allows users to browse live inventory and book service appointments without ever losing their vehicle's diagnostic context.
Centralizing digital vehicle & key management provides a more secure and transparent way for users to manage access to their vehicles, improving overall trust in the platform.
The "Knowledge & Awareness" Gap
As a lean team, we faced two critical bottlenecks that threatened the app’s adoption. First, potential users and stakeholders lacked a central destination to understand the app’s value proposition.
Second, we needed a dedicated marketing site as part of our go to market strategy.
Solution & Impact
I expanded my role to design and deploy a dual-purpose digital footprint:
High-Conversion Marketing Site: Developed a sleek landing page that translated complex technical features into clear, benefit-driven copy for vehicle owners.
Self-Service User Guide: Created a comprehensive user guide. This included step-by-step walkthroughs of each feature.
