Design principles - Principles

Simple

Interacting with Cars.com should be simple and straightforward across all of our experiences, with each touchpoint along the way clear, easy to understand, and streamlined.

Create useful wayfinding —- user knows exactly where they are, why, and what to do next
Willingly take on system-complexity in service of making things easier for users
Use a content structure and language that strives for clarity and solves for understandability
Reduce or eliminate jargon in favor of the language people normally use and understand
Meet people where they are: Give them the information they need in that moment to accomplish their goal
Carefully consider broader context and user expectations and design for this complexity

Personal

The more we get to know our customer, the better we’ll be at providing them with the information they need, when they need to see it. It’ll enable us to be predictive, rather than reactive, in helping our customers accomplish their goals.

Use what they explicitly share, what we can implicitly infer, and knowledge of their particular use context to create memorable, meaningful experiences
Tailor the level of personalization to be appropriate for the context and expectations; for example, displaying basic contact info vs. financial information
Support people feeling in control of their experience - also connected to the Empowering Principle

Empowering

Our experiences will empower people by being consistently trustworthy and credible. We aren’t afraid to put our independent perspective on display. People who interact with us will become more informed, more confident they’re making the best choices, and feel in control of their own destiny.

Work to clearly express our independent perspective, and be willing to fight for those who interact with us
Make the specific benefit for interacting with us clear to each individual user
Thoughtfully consider and design for each user’s specific goals
Always position our experience as a tool in service of the user; it should never feel like it’s the other way around
Use context to create more powerful experiences
Use our expertise and knowledge to guide people, without being too heavy-handed
Ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we provide at all times
Acknowledge that people have options, and demonstrate our willingness to repeatedly win their trust and loyalty

Effective

Our experiences should make it easy for people to accomplish their goals and move forward through the system with minimum friction and effort. Each touchpoint and interaction should visibly demonstrate progress toward our understanding of user goals.

Develop a clear understanding of people’s needs and goals before creating a solution
Ensure that people can move from one step to the next with ease and clarity
Guide people to the next step in a way that is friendly and encouraging
Be clear about where the user is in the flow, and how close to the finish line they are
Remove noise and distractions that don’t present clear value
Consider both absolute measurements of task time as well as perception of ease
Make people’s progress and effort visible and available across different channels

Dependable

To help people in a meaningful way, our experiences need to work reliably –- by being available, fast to respond, and easy to use. Our dependability provides comfort and credibility to people interacting with us and lets them know we’re looking out for them.

Work to enable and communicate safety, control and transparency in our systems
Focus on ensuring information accuracy, completeness, and freshness, which are critical to create dependability
Value and champion technical performance; it’s critical in us being dependable, and not a separate component of people’s experience with us
Design experiences that reflect alignment with people’s expectations
Aim for coherence first, and then consistency. Consistency is a means to serving people dependably, but not the aim in and of itself
Use approachable, natural language to establish comfort, maintain credibility, and build trust
Design for coherence with our brand and quality of experiences; together they should reinforce people’s trust in us