OVERVIEW
FLASH is a B2B cloud-native parking tech company to offer innovative parking and mobility solutions. They are making parking smart, user-friendly and efficient, both for drivers and parking lot operators.
In January 2022, I joined Flash as a UI/UX Product Design Intern, collaborating with a cross-functional team to enhance the parking experience. The team is targeting to develop a seamless mobility experience, navigating them back to their parked car from any point in a garage efficiently.
ROLE
Product Designer - UX research, Product Management, Interaction Design, 3D Prototyping
TEAM
2PMs, 5 Engineers, 2 UXD, 1 Mechanical Engineer
TIMELINE & STATUS
Jan 2022 - Jan 2023
Adopted by 10+ parking lot operators by 2023.
BACKGROUND
FlashParking: Elevating the Future of Smart Mobility
Flash is revolutionizing parking with cloud-native, B2B mobility solutions, powering their featured brand ParkWhiz, BestParking, and LAZgo to make garages more efficient, user-friendly, and connected. By bridging the gap between parking and mobility, Flash aims to seamlessly integrate smart navigation into its ecosystem—enhancing customer loyalty and elevating its comprehensive product suite.
Problem
Have you ever lost in a complex parking structure and can’t find your car?
"How might we create an efficient and intuitive way for drivers to find their car in a multi-level parking structure?"
Solution Highlights
1.0 After pulling up the car
Mark down parking position in 1 -click
Once you launch the app, it will automatically detect and display your parking information on a 2D floor map. The bottom panel highlights the specific parking space and the floor you're on. Just confirm it in "1 click" if it's right.
Dashboard: Parking position will be stored in a dashboard for you to check when leaving.
Oops! Wrong spot? Fix it in 1-click
If the auto-loaded parking information by chance is not accurate, just hit the "refresh button" or either pick the right floor from the dropdown.
2.0 Come Back the Parking Structure
Guide you back to your car
Navigation is tailored for walking! After returning the parking structure, you can start from previewing the walking route, ETA, and distance to your car. Then the app will guide you back from anywhere you are!
Turn on AR navigation via setting menu
Use this slide deck to turn on/off AR navigation, and customize display of different navigation aids on your preferences.
Define the Project
Technical Landscape analysis
Evaluating the right technology for seamless navigation
Before diving into design, we collaborated closely with engineers to explore the technical feasibility of different tracking and localization methods. Our goal was to identify the best technology to seamlessly guide users back to their parked cars while balancing user experience, accuracy, cost, and implementation complexity. We evaluated BLE Beacons, QR Codes, Apple U1 Chip, and AirTags, weighing their strengths and limitations. This early technical exploration ensured that our final solution was not only intuitive for users but also practical for deployment within Flash’s ecosystem.
Feasibility Research
AR, is the initial business interest.
USER SURVEY
However, users still rely on 2D maps over AR navigation
Understanding user attitudes toward AR and why they struggle to find parked cars: To figure out users pain point when finding the car and their attitude towards AR navigation, I created the user survey via Google Form and received 50 valid responses across 16 -40 years old.
BALANCING BUSINESS GOALS & USER NEEDS
The conflict: AR vs. 2D navigation
FLASH pushed for AR navigation, but users still preferred 2D maps. The problem? AR relies on stable internet, which isn’t always available in parking garages. Users were frustrated with poor signals disrupting GPS, so we needed a solution that worked offline.
Define the balance
After teaming up with PMs and engineers, I found a middle ground: using Bluetooth low-energy beacons for offline 2D navigation, while keeping AR as an optional add-on users can turn on when needed. This way, we ensured reliability while still embracing innovation.
Ideation
User Flow
User Stage 1:
After pulling up their car
The drivers pull up their car in a parking structure. As soon as they open our app, it automatically suggests current parking position.
User Stage 2:
Come Back the Garage
When drivers get back to the parking structure, they will use the app to check where they parked. If needed, the app can guide them back the car from current standing position.
Low-Fi sketches & Ideas
#01
How to help users remember their car position effortlessly before leaving the garage?
Users often forget where they parked, struggling with identical floors and poor GPS signals. To solve this, I designed an auto-marking system using BLE beacons to log and display parking spots automatically. The result: a seamless system that automatically loads car locations, highlights key details, and lets users confirm or update effortlessly.
Card Sorting Workshop
I led 4 workshops with 2 designers, 2PMs, and 3 engineers to refine the architecture.
OUTCOMES:
Visual patterns
Information Architecture
Feature prioritization
#02
Where to retrieve parking information after leaving the garage?
Designed a dashboard to store parking details and guide users back to their car with clear next steps.
#03
How might we better tell users how to get back their car from current position after they come back the garage?
We designed a navigation flow that previews the walking route, estimated time, and distance before users begin navigation. The system allows users to update their current position, ensuring accurate directions back to their parked car. Key visual indicators, such as dashed lines for walking mode and clear starting points, make the experience intuitive.
#04
How to integrate AR intuitively as a bonus feature?
To make AR an optional yet valuable addition, we introduced a Map Display Setting where users can toggle between 2D and AR navigation. This keeps the interface familiar while allowing users to customize their preferred navigation mode. The settings panel is accessible via a side deck, ensuring easy adjustments without disrupting the main navigation interface.
Design Iteration
User Testing
Usability Testing
I designed the test via UserBrain and recruited 12 users to validate our design assumptions. All user tests are remote, unmoderated.
Key finding#01
Enhancing Visibility of System Status: Making Auto-loaded parking info intuitive
The terminology of title is not clear and intuitive enough, so users didn't realize the parking position and floor info is automatically loaded when they open the app.
Before
❓
Users didn’t realize their parking location and floor number were auto-loaded. The unclear terminology and design made the input box appear editable, causing confusion.
🤔
the "Refresh" button lacked context, leaving users unsure of its function.
After
🔒
The location input box is grayed out to indicate “disabled” to avoid confusion.
🕹️
Moved the "Refresh" button inside the location component with a clear explanation. Simplified the action to “Confirm Location” for better clarity.
Key finding#02
Bridging a gap in the user flow
Based on our user testing results, we found that after marking their parking spot, users were unsure when to reopen the app for navigation, leading to confusion about its functionality.
Before
❌ Users didn’t know when or where navigation would work.
❓“Does ‘Take Me There’ work anywhere like Google Maps, or only inside the garage?”
+ 28% average Task Success Rate
After
✅ Smart Instructional Overlay appears only when users are outside the garage, clearly indicating that navigation is limited to the parking structure.
✅ Seamless, developer-friendly solution that reduces confusion and enhances the user experience.
Final Design
DESIGN SYSTEM
Impact
A Unique MVP for Seamless Parking Experience
From scoping to research and testing, we identified key pain points and designed a user-centered MVP that balances business goals and user needs. This B2B solution is now adopted by 5+ major parking operators, including Ford, GM, and event-based parking providers, proving its scalability and real-world impact.
96%
Average task success rate to find the car
>80%️
of users rate it a 5 star in a scale of 1-5
10+
Major parking lot operators adopted this solution
Clean Design
“Text and graphics is not overwhelmed, and dashboard provides the minimum information I need, I like this design!”
Helpful Features
“I believe this app can come in handy especially for people that forget where they park. And I feel as if this feature should be preinstalled on all phones”