About PistonHeads

PistonHeads is UK-based website and online community for car enthusiasts, featuring a marketplace for premium and performance cars, along with automotive news, reviews, and a well-known community forum.

Overview

As the sole product designer at PistonHeads, I played a key role in launching and continuously developing a new auction product for their popular automotive website from February 2023 - December 2024. The project involved two key phases: launching the auction platform to market and iterating and improving the auction product and journey. My role focused on creating a user-centered design that met user needs and business goals.

The Challenge

PistonHeads sought to expand its offerings by introducing an online auction platform to attract a wider audience, cater to niche vehicles, and generate new revenue streams. This presented several design challenges:

1. Attracting and engaging users: The platform needed to appeal to both buyers and sellers, providing a seamless and engaging user experience.
2. Building trust and transparency: As a new service, it was crucial to establish trust with users by clearly communicating the auction process, fees, and security measures.
3. Highlighting value proposition: The design needed to showcase the unique benefits of PistonHeads Auctions, leveraging the strong brand reputation and loyal user base.
4. Driving conversion: The auction landing page needed to effectively educate users, encourage immediate action (e.g., saving auctions, bidding), and promote long-term engagement with the platform.

The Solution

To address these challenges, I employed a user-centered design approach, conducting user research and usability testing throughout the project. This involved:

• Understanding user needs: Gathering insights into the needs and motivations of both buyers and sellers through feedback, user testing, and data analysis.
• Designing the UX: Creating user flows, wireframes, and prototypes for the auction platform, focusing on a clear and intuitive bidding process, browsing experience, and vehicle information pages.
• Developing the visual design: Ensuring the auction platform aligned with the PistonHeads brand while creating a unique and engaging visual identity to ensure that auctions felt premium.
• Testing and iterating: Conducting usability testing to gather feedback on the designs and iterating based on user insights.

Outcome

The PistonHeads Auctions platform launched in late 2023 and has gone through a few iterations since. In 2024 the platform achieved the following:

230+

cars sold

60%+

sale rate

£3.5m+

GMV

Based on user testing and feedback, users found value in accessing unique cars, potential bargains, and being part of a community.

These results demonstrate the successful launch of the auction platform and its ability to attract users, generate bidding activity, and drive revenue. The user-centered design approach played a key role in achieving these positive outcomes.

Design Process

Research

Utilised secondary research, surveys, and competitor analysis to gather insights into the needs and motivations of both buyers and sellers.

Ideation & Concept Development

Explored various journeys and design concepts through workshops and sketches, drawing inspiration from competitor analysis and best practices in auction platform design.

Wireframing

Developed low-fidelity wireframes to establish the information architecture and user flow for key tasks, such as browsing auctions, placing bids, and managing accounts. These wireframes were then translated into interactive prototypes using Figma to simulate user interactions and gather feedback.

Visual Design 

Created a visual design that aligned with the PistonHeads brand guidelines while incorporating elements of excitement and exclusivity to appeal to the target audience. This involved selecting appropriate typography, colour palettes, and imagery to create a visually engaging and trustworthy product.

Testing & Iterating

To validate our design solutions, I conducted usability testing with 6-10 male users (aged 25-65) in the UK. Positive feedback led to a pilot launch, allowing for further iteration based on real-world data.

Analysis revealed opportunities to enhance the landing page experience by:

• Improving aesthetics: Updating the design to reflect a premium and modern feel.
• Educating users: Introducing a dedicated page explaining the auction process.
• Enhancing search and filtering: Implementing dynamic text search (make/model), saved item filters, and quick filters for auction types (live, buy it now, sold, etc.).
• Highlighting key information: Prominently displaying vehicle location on listing cards.
• This iterative approach ensured the final product was optimised for usability, trust, and ultimately, increased bids and sales.

Final Solution

Results

Through iterative testing and refinement, we delivered a user-friendly and engaging auction experience that exceeded both user expectations and business KPIs. Key results from the final user test include:

• High satisfaction with core features: Users praised the filters, search functionality, sorting options, and overall design.
• Positive feedback on aesthetics and content: Users highlighted the page's visual appeal, transparency, immersive experience, high-quality imagery, and informative FAQ section.
• Validation of key design decisions: The "How it works" page and "Coming Soon" filter proved particularly valuable to users.
• Significant improvement in user sentiment: The Net Promoter Score (NPS) jumped from 0 to 83, demonstrating a substantial increase in user satisfaction.

This data confirms the success of our user-centered design approach in creating an effective and enjoyable auction platform.