Vecul

A centralized peer-to-peer car rental platform connecting car owners with renters, making car sharing accessible, secure, and profitable

Services

Design Research

Visual Design

UI & UX Design

Team

1 Product Designer (Me)

2 Frontend Developers

2 Product Managers

3 Backend Developers

1 Business Analyst

Platform

Web & Mobile

Duration

6 months (2024-2025)

About Project

Vecul is a comprehensive car rental marketplace that connects three key stakeholders: individual car owners looking to monetize their idle vehicles, established rental businesses seeking to expand their reach and manage fleets efficiently, and renters seeking affordable, flexible transportation options. The platform serves as a centralized hub that makes car sharing accessible, secure, and profitable across Nigeria's fragmented rental market.

The Problem

The Nigerian car rental market was fragmented and inefficient, creating pain points for both renters and car owners:

01 No centralized platform for finding and comparing rental cars

02 High rental costs from traditional ride-sharing services with limited flexibility

03 Untapped income potential from idle vehicles sitting in garages

04 Inability to compare prices, features, and reviews across rental options

05 Limited options for renters without valid licenses to find cars with drivers

06 Manual booking processes leading to inefficiencies and double bookings

The Solution

A comprehensive two-sided marketplace that makes car rental simple, secure, and profitable:

01 Centralized platform to browse 100+ cars, compare prices, and book in minutes

02 Intuitive multi-step listing form enabling hosts to list cars in under 3 minutes

03 Comprehensive filtering by price, brand, transmission, car type, year, and seats

04 Flexible self-drive or driver-included rental options

05 Clear three-step booking process with insurance details and cost breakdowns

Understanding Our Users

Through research and competitive analysis of platforms like Turo, Getaround, and local Nigerian rental businesses, we identified three primary user groups:

Research & Discovery

Conducted competitive analysis of Turo, Getaround, and local Nigerian rental businesses. Interviewed potential users to understand pain points in the current rental process and identified key opportunities in the market.

User FLow Mapping

Collaborated with product managers and business analysts to map out critical user journeys for both renters and hosts. Identified friction points and opportunities to simplify complex processes.

Design

Created high-fidelity designs in Figma focusing on clarity, efficiency, and trust-building. Worked closely with frontend developers to ensure design feasibility and smooth handoff.

Homepage
The homepage features a prominent search bar in the hero section for quick rental queries, followed by a grid of 100+ available vehicles displayed as cards with key information (price, ratings, specs). Category tabs and a "Most Hired Cars" section help users discover popular options, while dual CTAs serve both renters and potential hosts.

Car Details Page
This page combines a large image gallery with organized information sections (description, features, driver options, conditions, reviews). The right-side booking panel includes date/time selectors and prominent CTAs with clear pricing. Host information at the bottom builds trust through ratings and trip history.

List Your Car
Host onboarding uses a progress indicator to show users their position in the 6-step flow. Dropdown selectors organize vehicle specifications, while an icon-based grid allows quick feature selection (AC, Bluetooth, CarPlay, etc.). The driver option toggle addresses local market needs.

Host Corner - Reports Dashboard
The dashboard provides hosts with key performance metrics at a glance (most profitable car, total profit, ongoing rentals). A 12-month earnings chart with time period filters visualizes revenue trends, while separate graphs break down earnings and commissions by individual vehicle.

View Rental (Host View)
A two-column layout separates rental details from renter information. The left shows pricing breakdown and trip details, while the right displays the renter's profile, ratings, and contact info. Clear "Reject" and "Accept" buttons enable quick decision-making, with tooltips explaining insurance coverage.

Key Design Decisions

Thoughtful choices that shaped the user experience:

01 Progress Indicators: Implemented clear progress bars throughout the host listing and booking flows. This reduced anxiety by showing users exactly where they were in the process and what steps remained, helping them prepare necessary documents in advance.

02 Multi-Step Forms: Broke down complex information collection into digestible steps rather than overwhelming users with long forms. Each step focuses on a specific category (car details, features, pictures, etc.), improving completion rates.

03 Card-Based Layout: Chose a card-based design for car listings to make scanning and comparison effortless. Each card displays essential information (price, rating, transmission, seats) at a glance, reducing decision-making time.

04 Trust Signals: Prominently displayed ratings, verified badges, and insurance information to build trust between strangers. Added security features like BVN verification and transaction PINs for hosts to feel secure.

05 Visual Hierarchy: Used bold blue CTAs consistently throughout the platform to guide users toward key actions. Maintained clear typography and generous whitespace to reduce cognitive load and improve readability.

06 Transparent Pricing: Designed clear cost breakdowns showing daily rates, service charges, and insurance fees separately. Added helpful tooltips to explain charges, building confidence in the booking process.

Impact & Results

50%

Reduction in Booking Time

Streamlined the rental process from search to confirmation, eliminating the need for multiple phone calls and manual coordination.

3 Minute Listing Time

Optimized the host onboarding flow to enable quick car listings, removing barriers to entry for potential hosts.

65%

Host Retention After 90 Days

Created an engaging platform that keeps hosts active through smooth payment processing, clear communication, and ongoing bookings.

100+

Cars Available

Built a comprehensive marketplace with diverse vehicle options across different brands, prices, and features.

Key Learnings

Progressive Disclosure Works: Breaking complex forms into smaller, focused steps significantly improved completion rates. Users felt less overwhelmed and could gather required information between steps.
Trust is Critical in Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: Security features like BVN verification, and clear pricing weren't just nice-to-haves, they were essential for both hosts and renters to feel confident using the platform.
Context Matters for Nigerian Market: Understanding local needs (like driver-included options for unlicensed users) was crucial. Generic international solutions wouldn't have addressed specific Nigerian pain points.
Collaboration Drives Better Design: Working closely with product managers, developers, and business analysts throughout the process led to more practical, implementable solutions that balanced user needs with technical constraints.

Next Steps & Future Enhancements

Enhanced Analytics Dashboard: Build comprehensive analytics for hosts to track earnings, popular rental periods, and vehicle performance metrics.
In-App Messaging: Enable direct communication between hosts and renters for coordination and questions without leaving the platform.
Smart Pricing Recommendations
Use data to suggest optimal pricing for hosts based on vehicle type, location, and market demand.

Conclusion

Vecul successfully addresses a significant gap in the Nigerian car rental market by creating a centralized, user-friendly platform that serves both car owners and renters. Through careful research, iterative design, and close collaboration with cross-functional teams, we created an experience that makes car sharing accessible, secure, and profitable.

The project demonstrates how thoughtful UX design, from progress indicators to transparent pricing, can solve real-world problems and create value for multiple user groups simultaneously.