space cat
space cat
home work about say hello →
Automotive Configurator UX RTL / LTR User Research

SEAT & CUPRA

C14 · Product Designer · Mar 2019 – Apr 2020
Agency
C14
Clients
SEAT S.A. · CUPRA
Timeline
Mar 2019 – Apr 2020
// context

At C14 I worked across multiple SEAT and CUPRA digital products as part of a larger design team. My work spanned four distinct projects — each with different scope, methods, and deliverables. I worked directly with the client on some (Search, Aftersales), collaborating within the team on others (Configurator, CUPRA Traveller).

// 01 — configurator: RTL/LTR UX & UI

The SEAT and CUPRA configurators let users build their own car step-by-step — choosing model, engine, colour, trim, and extras through a sequential decision tree with real-time pricing. I focused specifically on the RTL (right-to-left) and LTR (left-to-right) UX and UI. This isn't just mirroring a layout: Arabic and Hebrew interfaces have different reading patterns, different information density expectations, and different affordance conventions. Numbers and prices stay LTR inside RTL text. Progress indicators reverse direction. Icon directionality requires individual review. I worked across both directions to ensure the configurator felt native regardless of language — not like a translation of a Western design.

// SEAT CONFIGURATOR
// 02 — search: owned end-to-end with client

The SEAT Search experience was a project I led directly with the client — my own piece within the broader team's work. SEAT's website covered a wide range of content: car models, accessories, dealers, aftersales services, news, and more. The challenge was designing a unified search experience that could surface the right type of result clearly, without forcing users to know where to look first. I designed the search UI, the results page with content-type filtering (models, accessories, dealers, aftersales), the empty states, and the no-results fallbacks — working directly with SEAT stakeholders to define what "good search" meant for their users.

// 03 — aftersales: user research → user journey

The SEAT Aftersales project started with a research question: why do SEAT owners find the service booking process confusing or frustrating? I conducted user interviews with SEAT owners, mapping their experience across the full aftersales lifecycle — from first awareness that their car needs a service, through booking, drop-off, waiting, collection, and follow-up. The interviews surfaced friction points the team hadn't anticipated: unclear communication between service steps, no proactive updates during the service day, and a booking flow that required information users didn't have to hand. I synthesised these into a user journey map that became the brief for redesigning the aftersales digital touchpoints.

// SEAT AFTERSALES — USER JOURNEY (RESEARCH-LED)
// 04 — CUPRA traveller: lifestyle website

CUPRA Traveller was a lifestyle and travel website — an editorial experience connecting the CUPRA brand with destinations, routes, and travel culture. Different in tone from the configurator: where SEAT's tools were task-focused and functional, CUPRA Traveller was aspirational, visually driven, and narrative-led. I contributed to the UX and UI of this project within the design team, working on the information architecture, the route/destination browsing experience, and the visual language that matched CUPRA's positioning as a performance-meets-lifestyle brand.

// SEAT AFTERSALES — USER JOURNEY (RESEARCH-LED)
// CUPRA TRAVELLER — LIFESTYLE WEBSITE
// what made this engagement different
Working within a team
Most of my work is end-to-end solo ownership. C14 was different — collaborating within a larger design team, owning specific workstreams while staying aligned on shared patterns and handoffs.
Direct client relationship
On Search and Aftersales I worked directly with SEAT stakeholders — presenting work, running alignment sessions, and iterating based on client feedback in real time.
Research-to-design on Aftersales
Moving from interviews to synthesis to journey mapping to design recommendations — running the full research loop, not just the design phase.
RTL as a first-class concern
RTL UX is easy to get wrong when treated as an afterthought. Designing bidirectional interfaces from the ground up — not retrofitting — required thinking in systems, not skins.
// outcomes
Search delivered to client
Full Search UX/UI designed and delivered directly in collaboration with SEAT — from concept to final specs.
RTL/LTR configurator
Bidirectional configurator experience designed across both directions — each feeling native, not translated.
Aftersales journey mapped
User interviews → journey map → redesign brief. Research surfaced friction points invisible to the team, redirecting design priorities.
CUPRA Traveller shipped
Lifestyle website contributing to CUPRA's brand positioning as a travel and performance lifestyle brand.
← Etherlaken All work →