Ruben Cespedes
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Role & Scope
I was responsible for the end-to-end product design of the experience, including user research, UX strategy, interaction design, and visual design. I worked closely with stakeholders, product partners, and engineering to define problems, test assumptions, and deliver a more usable marketplace.
Context & Problem
Buying a used commercial truck is a high-consideration decision. Users needed detailed information, clear comparisons, and confidence in vehicle condition and value. The existing experience made it difficult to find relevant inventory, understand differences between options, and move forward with confidence.
The challenge was to balance depth of information with usability, while supporting both first-time and experienced buyers.
Constraints
A wide range of vehicle types, configurations, and pricing
Content and inventory managed by multiple internal teams
Legacy patterns that limited flexibility in layout and interaction
The need to support both research-heavy browsing and faster purchase paths
Research
An extensive research was made for this project in order to understand the weaknesses of their old site and the search inventory. Some of the methods include:
Key Findings
Wireframing
I started with rough sketches to explore component ideas and define the overall website layout for the Penske Used Trucks redesign. This helped me focus on structure, content hierarchy, and key interactions early, before moving into low fidelity wireframes for quick feedback and iteration.
Approach
I began with user research to understand how buyers evaluated vehicles, what information they trusted most, and where friction occurred in the existing flow. Insights from interviews and usability testing helped identify gaps in search, filtering, and vehicle detail pages.
From there, I worked on restructuring the information architecture, improving discoverability, and designing clearer comparison and evaluation patterns. Design decisions were tested and refined through feedback loops with stakeholders and engineering to ensure feasibility and alignment with business goals.
Final Designs
Solution
Improved search and filtering
Search and filters were redesigned to better reflect how users think about trucks, helping them narrow inventory quickly without feeling overwhelmed.Clearer vehicle detail pages
Vehicle pages were reorganized to surface the most important information first, with supporting details available as users needed them.Building trust through transparency
Visual hierarchy, consistent data presentation, and clearer calls to action helped users feel more confident evaluating vehicles and taking next steps.
Outcomes
The redesigned experience made it easier for users to find relevant vehicles, understand key differences, and move through the buying process with greater confidence. The work helped improve usability across the marketplace and better supported Penske’s business goals around engagement and conversion.
Reflection
High-consideration purchases require clarity and trust, not just speed
Strong information architecture is critical in content-heavy experiences
User research is essential for balancing business needs with real buyer behavior