Experience at a Glance
When I joined Volkswagen Group Future Center Europe (FCE) as a UX Concept Design intern in April 2023, I walked into a project that felt both bold and historic. The task at hand was to contribute to the revival of Scout Motors—a nearly forgotten American icon of rugged adventure. This wasn’t just about designing an interface; it was about translating the essence of a legendary brand into a timeless digital in-car experience.
The design challenge was clear yet ambitious: to create something that feels rugged, enduring, while also modern enough to serve the expectations of today’s drivers. For that, our team set out to explore what it meant to carry the heritage of Scout into the digital age of mobility.
My Contribution
My role in the project revolved around shaping and refining concepts through research and prototyping. I was involved early on in creating concepts, using benchmarking and exploratory studies to spark ideas and set a foundation for the design direction. Alongside this, I prepared and conducted qualitative user tests to validate these early concepts, making sure our work stayed anchored in real user needs.
On a more hands-on level, I worked on mapping user journeys, building Figma prototypes for testing, and documenting the early information architecture. I supported the development of a wireframe design system and explored different ways of UX architecture. I also contributed to UX proposals for in-car apps and MVP features, like climate control and camping mode, extending the adventurous DNA of Scout into digital interactions that users could genuinely rely on.
From Legacy to Future
Working on this project was a lesson in balancing brand legacy with innovation, and in shaping experiences that speak to both the heart and the mind. While the specifics of the concepts remain under wraps due to NDAs, what I carry forward is the experience of bringing a forgotten brand’s identity into the future through design—and the reminder that sometimes, designing an interface means helping to tell a much bigger story.
Images from the official Scout Motors website