Custom license plates website homepage with "Represent Your Vibe" slogan, license plate customization options, and popular plate examples.

Custom Plates

Creating a fresh web experience prioritising user experience & accessibility.

Client

VicRoads

Agency

Bound

UX Testing, UI Design, Marketing

Category

Background

In Victoria, personalised number plates are managed by VPlates, operating on behalf of VicRoads. VPlates offers a variety of custom plate designs and combinations, allowing vehicle owners to personalise their plates to reflect their individual style or interests. Options include standard plates, slimline plates, and special interest plates featuring themes like fishing or support for AFL teams.

The Problem

The VicRoads Custom Plates website has seen minimal changes to its user experience flow over the years. Recently, there has been a significant decline in conversions, prompting Vplates to seek a better understanding of the underlying pain points. Several areas of the site exhibit inconsistent styles, varying functionalities, and fail to meet the standard A rating for accessibility.

My Role

This project was co-led by me and another designer, spanning over multiple months.  During this time, we worked on understanding the brief, conducting user research on the current platform, ideating solutions, creating multiple wireframe versions, prototyping user flows, conducting usability testing, and finalising the designs. Additionally, we developed a design system to ensure consistency and scalability throughout the project.

Digital mockup of a custom license plate website displayed on a tablet and smartphone screen, featuring promotional text and images of various license plate designs.
YourPlates.com website mobile view promoting custom license plates with options to create or redesign plates.
A collection of various decorative license plates on a black background, featuring diverse text and designs.

After many iterations of testing wireframes, we nailed down the flow to one concept that has the most success and ticked all boxes from a brief point of view. Users said the flow elevated pain points from the current site and made the process straightforward. Not only that, they could easily navigate to a plate design they liked and understand the design limitations per plate.

Wires & Prototyping

Figma design prototype showing multiple mobile app screens with flow connections.
Mobile website interface for YourPlates.com, offering custom license plates for cars and motorbikes. Features options to check availability for custom letters and numbers, and a button to restyle existing plates.
Website displaying available personalized license plate options, showing "FLA5HY" as a combination available. Offers include Melbourne Storm Premium plates priced between $495-$695 with 32 color options.
Screenshot of the YourPlates website displaying custom license plate options. The plate "FLASHY" is marked unavailable, and alternatives like "FLA5HY," "FL0S9Y," and "FLAAHY" are suggested. A button for filters is visible at the bottom.
A design system titled "Custom Plates" displays various icons. The icons include eyes, locks, cameras, check marks, arrows, magnifying glasses, plus and minus signs, credit card logos (Visa, Mastercard), vehicles (car, bicycle), directional arrows, a heart with a dollar symbol, a box, and others. Icons are organized in columns with some highlighted in purple dotted lines.
Typography guide for Custom Plates Design System, showing various header and body text combinations with font sizes: H1 36/48, H2 32/40, H3 28/32, H4 24/28, H5 20/28, H6 16/20, Body 16/24. Example text 'Check Combination' displayed in different styles.
A collection of logos for 'Custom Plates' and 'Vicroads', along with the 'Victoria State Government' logo, part of a design system.
Color palette of nine squares including green, black, red, grey, and white, labeled "Custom Plates Design System" and "Colours."
Design system interface showing various custom license plate templates with different color schemes and styles. Includes input fields labeled with "Filled," "Label," and "Help text," with some showing "Error text." The design system is displayed under a header "Custom Plates Design System."
Design system showcasing various styles of buttons labeled 'Example button text' with arrow icons, featuring different colors and outlines.

A brand-oriented design system was developed from the ground up to integrate branding elements into the website and establish a uniform visual framework throughout the site. Implementing a design system also ensures the website's readiness for the future, as it should possess the flexibility to accommodate any potential scenarios when creating additional pages in the future.

Design System

Website homepage for custom vehicle plates featuring options to browse styles, use plate recommender, and view popular plates. Includes images of cars with customized license plates and sections on why to choose custom plates. Subscription and contact info provided at the bottom.
Blurred image with indistinct red and blue lights
Custom license plate design website interface featuring "Represent Your Vibe" slogan, search options for car and motorbike plates, and details on popular plates like Slimline Black. Additional sections highlight benefits of custom plates, including designs, lifetime ownership, investment value, and free delivery. Images showcase car styles, and footer includes links to VicRoads and Victoria Government, along with social media icons and navigation links.
Vintage photograph of an early 20th-century open-top car with five men in suits and hats seated inside. The car is parked next to a building with a sign advertising cab and buggy hire. Two young boys in period clothing and hats are standing by the window.
Website homepage for Custom Plates featuring a vintage photo of men in an early 20th century car with an ad for heritage license plates. Sections include details about handcrafted plates, display boxes, and certified heritage options.

Featured Product

Featured Product

VicRoads required the capability to showcase featured products and create customised landing pages for these items. One highly sought-after product is the heritage number plates. In the design system, we incorporated colour flexibility, enabling product pages to be customised to align with the product.

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