Academic project · not commercialized

Fixing your motorcycle without going to the shop

Doc2Wheels — designing the journey of a stranded motorcyclist, from the request for help to the on-site repair.

Timeline: March – May 2024 · 3 months
My role: UX research, journey mapping, UI
Team: Me + [n] art directors
Tools: Figma, [other tools]

The context

A broken-down motorcycle can't ride to the garage. Doc2Wheels starts from that paradox: bring the mechanic to the rider, rather than the other way around.

A three-month academic project. The brief: imagine a mobile repair service for motorcycles and scooters, at home, at the office or by the roadside, and design the app that makes it possible.

My starting question: At what moment does a stranded rider feel most helpless, and how can the app step in at that precise moment?

6journey stages mapped

10high-fidelity screens designed

2subscription plans

50 ktarget users at launch

01Understand

The journey of a stranded motorcyclist

Before drawing a single screen, I mapped the current journey, from the moment the rider realizes something is wrong to picking the bike back up. For each stage: what the rider does, thinks and feels, and what blocks them.

Six-stage experience map: realizing the breakdown, finding a garage, requesting a quote, booking an appointment, dropping off the bike, pickup and payment — Experience map: actions, thoughts, feelings, pain points and opportunities at each stage.

Finding 1The low point is the quote requestThis is the stage where the emotion curve drops the lowest: the rider knows neither how much the repair will cost nor when the bike will be taken care of.Source: experience map

Finding 2[Second pain point][What you observed, and why it matters for what follows]Source: [interview, survey, benchmark]

Finding 3[Third pain point][What you observed]Source: [source]

“[The strongest quote heard during the research]”
[Profile of the rider interviewed]

What I take from it

The real problem isn't the repair itself, it's the uncertainty that comes before it: how much, when, by whom. The app has to answer these three questions before the mechanic even sets out.

Next step · 02 Frame ↓

02Frame

An accessible service, designed for volume

The requirements document set the ambition: 50,000 users at launch, with affordable pricing rather than a premium model. Aiming for volume means designing for riders of all levels: the app has to be understandable without any help.

Requirements document page: objective and feasibility table

From requirements to information architecture

I organized the app around the questions a rider asks themselves, not around the company's services: "What's wrong?" leads to diagnosis, "When?" to booking, "Who?" to the experts.

[What guided the grouping of sections, and what you deliberately left out.]

Site map of the Doc2Wheels app — Site map of the app.

What I take from it

Few entry points, riders' language and no garage jargon: the architecture was in place. What remained was bringing it to life screen by screen.

Next step · 03 Design ↓

03Design

From paper to screen

I first drew the user flow to make sure no path led to a dead end, then sketched the screens by hand. Paper lets you test quickly, without getting attached to visual details.

App user flow — User flow: each diamond is a user choice.

Paper wireframe of the diagnostic screens — Paper wireframes: the diagnostic.

Paper wireframe of the appointment booking — Paper wireframes: appointment booking.

[What changed between paper and high fidelity, and why.]

Ten screens of the Doc2Wheels app — The high-fidelity screens.

What I take from it

The mockups revealed three moments where everything is decided: before the repair, when booking the appointment, and after the repair. Each one called for a clear design choice.

Next step · 04 Decide ↓

04Decide

Three choices that change the journey

Each decision starts from a research finding, rules out at least one alternative, and aims for an effect we could measure.

Decision 1

A diagnostic before any trip

1
The finding
Requesting a quote is the lowest point of the journey: riders have no idea what the repair will cost them.
2
What I chose
A remote diagnostic: fault category, description, photos, videos, even a 3D scan, analyzed by an AI that suggests a quote.
3
What I ruled out
A simple phone call to an advisor, which depends on opening hours and doesn't scale to 50,000 users. And a free-text form, too vague for someone who isn't a mechanic.
4
The expected effect
A quote known before the trip, and a mechanic who arrives with the right part.

How I would measure it: Share of quotes accepted, and share of repairs completed on the first visit.

AI Diagnostic screen: category, problem description, photos and videos

Decision 2

Now or later: urgency at the heart of the appointment

1
The finding
A motorcycle stranded at the side of the road and a service planned for next month are not the same need.
2
What I chose
Separate "Now" and "Schedule" from the start, then ask for the urgency level and the location of the service.
3
What I ruled out
A single calendar for all appointments, which would force a rider in distress to look for a slot like everyone else.
4
The expected effect
A response time adapted to the situation, and a rider who feels reassured from the very first seconds.

How I would measure it: Average time between the request and the mechanic's arrival, for each urgency level.

Appointment screen: address, now or schedule, urgency level

Decision 3

A subscription to stay present after the breakdown

1
The finding
A breakdown is a one-off event: without a follow-up, the relationship ends with the repair. And the target model relies on volume, not high prices.
2
What I chose
Two plans, Basic at €9.99 and Premium at €29.99 per month: discounts, maintenance reminders, vehicle health report.
3
What I ruled out
Pay-per-use alone, which doesn't build loyalty. And a single flat plan, with no low-priced entry point.
4
The expected effect
Riders who come back for maintenance, and therefore fewer avoidable breakdowns.

How I would measure it: Subscription rate after a first repair, then retention at 3 and 6 months.

Subscription screen: Basic and Premium plans

What I take from it

The journey held together. Now it had to be appealing, and speak to all riders, not just enthusiasts.

Next step · 05 Embody ↓

05Embody

A brand far from biker clichés

A brand open to everyone, which highlights mutual help rather than speed. It's the logical next step of the "volume" positioning: an identity that excludes no one. Identity and motion design by [who].