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Tag It

Overview

This wasn’t a facelift. It was a full rebuild of a fragmented internal + partner platform used by Tag It DMV—a private company that intermediates DMV services across 8 states (with plans to expand nationwide). Dealers, title clerks, sales teams, and accounting were juggling state portals, emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. I created structure where there was chaos, clarity where there was confusion, and a design system robust enough to scale across states—and compelling enough that parts of it are now being referenced by multiple NJ state departments.

Goals

  1. Drastically reduce user error and abandonment
    Over 40% of support tickets stemmed from interface-induced mistakes and unclear steps. The goal: make task flows clear, predictable, and resilient—especially for high-volume dealers, title clerks, and accounting teams.

  2. Streamline key DMV workflows without violating policy
    Every improvement had to respect strict legal/compliance constraints across states. We simplified complex processes (e.g., Real ID, vehicle registration, plate transfers) without removing required steps or wording.

  3. Build a system other teams could adopt
    Deliver a scalable, WCAG-compliant design system and patterns that other internal departments—and partner states—could adopt quickly.

My Role + Responsibilities

Led the end-to-end UX/UI redesign while employed at Puget Digital (agency of record). Owned research, IA, task flows, wireframes, UI, accessibility, and the design system. Consolidated multiple tools into one platform and cut user error rates dramatically through flow and copy refinements.

Team

2 front-end devs, 1 content strategist, Tag It DMV ops lead + compliance reviewer. I owned UX, IA, and accessibility outcomes; devs implemented the design system + flows; content strategist handled policy-sensitive microcopy with legal review.

Tag It

Overview

This wasn’t a facelift. It was a full rebuild of a fragmented internal + partner platform used by Tag It DMV—a private company that intermediates DMV services across 8 states (with plans to expand nationwide). Dealers, title clerks, sales teams, and accounting were juggling state portals, emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. I created structure where there was chaos, clarity where there was confusion, and a design system robust enough to scale across states—and compelling enough that parts of it are now being referenced by multiple NJ state departments.

Goals

  1. Drastically reduce user error and abandonment
    Over 40% of support tickets stemmed from interface-induced mistakes and unclear steps. The goal: make task flows clear, predictable, and resilient—especially for high-volume dealers, title clerks, and accounting teams.

  2. Streamline key DMV workflows without violating policy
    Every improvement had to respect strict legal/compliance constraints across states. We simplified complex processes (e.g., Real ID, vehicle registration, plate transfers) without removing required steps or wording.

  3. Build a system other teams could adopt
    Deliver a scalable, WCAG-compliant design system and patterns that other internal departments—and partner states—could adopt quickly.

My Role
+ Responsibilities

Led the end-to-end UX/UI redesign while employed at Puget Digital (agency of record). Owned research, IA, task flows, wireframes, UI, accessibility, and the design system. Consolidated multiple tools into one platform and cut user error rates dramatically through flow and copy refinements.

Team

2 front-end devs, 1 content strategist, Tag It DMV ops lead + compliance reviewer. I owned UX, IA, and accessibility outcomes; devs implemented the design system + flows; content strategist handled policy-sensitive microcopy with legal review.

Tag It

Overview

This wasn’t a facelift. It was a full rebuild of a fragmented internal + partner platform used by Tag It DMV—a private company that intermediates DMV services across 8 states (with plans to expand nationwide). Dealers, title clerks, sales teams, and accounting were juggling state portals, emails, PDFs, and spreadsheets. I created structure where there was chaos, clarity where there was confusion, and a design system robust enough to scale across states—and compelling enough that parts of it are now being referenced by multiple NJ state departments.

Goals

  1. Drastically reduce user error and abandonment
    Over 40% of support tickets stemmed from interface-induced mistakes and unclear steps. The goal: make task flows clear, predictable, and resilient—especially for high-volume dealers, title clerks, and accounting teams.

  2. Streamline key DMV workflows without violating policy
    Every improvement had to respect strict legal/compliance constraints across states. We simplified complex processes (e.g., Real ID, vehicle registration, plate transfers) without removing required steps or wording.

  3. Build a system other teams could adopt
    Deliver a scalable, WCAG-compliant design system and patterns that other internal departments—and partner states—could adopt quickly.

My Role + Responsibilities

Led the end-to-end UX/UI redesign while employed at Puget Digital (agency of record). Owned research, IA, task flows, wireframes, UI, accessibility, and the design system. Consolidated multiple tools into one platform and cut user error rates dramatically through flow and copy refinements.

Team

2 front-end devs, 1 content strategist, Tag It DMV ops lead + compliance reviewer. I owned UX, IA, and accessibility outcomes; devs implemented the design system + flows; content strategist handled policy-sensitive microcopy with legal review.

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Tag It Logo
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Client

Tag It DMV

Category

UX Design | IA | Design System
UX Design | IA | Design System

Services

UX Design

Timeline

Q1, 2024

Product Duration

3 Months

Problem

Problem

Problem

Tag It DMV was growing fast across 8 states but lacked a centralized system. Staff and partner dealers bounced between state portals, spreadsheets, email threads, and legacy tools—leading to duplicate data entry, missed steps, and inconsistent outcomes.


Core issues

  • Fragmented workflows across states (different rules, names, and exception paths).

  • Inconsistent UI and unstructured forms caused avoidable errors and rework.

  • Compliance risk: mandatory language and document checks were easy to miss.

  • Operational drag: high support volume; title clerks escalated routine edge cases; accounting reconciled by hand.


Business impact

  • Task abandonment and “phone-a-human” behavior from dealers under time pressure.

  • Over 40% of tickets tied to interface issues (unclear next steps, ambiguous language).

  • Slow onboarding of new states due to one-off UI patterns and lack of a reusable system.

This case study focuses on one challenge:
Redesign key DMV workflows (e.g., registration, Real ID document handling, transfers) to reduce user error and increase completion rates—while staying within state-by-state legal and accessibility constraints.

Personas

Research

Research

Research

I led a dual-track effort balancing internal constraints and field usability across states.


Stakeholder Discovery

  • 8 interviews with Tag It DMV operations, compliance, and support leads.

  • Mapped state-by-state requirements, portal dependencies, and policy wording that could not be changed.

  • Identified conflict hotspots where legal phrasing blocked clarity; defined safe microcopy patterns with legal sign-off.

  • Prioritized dealer workflows and title-clerk tasks with the highest error and ticket rates.


User Research

  • 12 dealer/title-clerk interviews across high-volume partners; 50 surveys across 8 states.

  • Top pain points: unclear required documents, inconsistent naming across states, and non-responsive layouts under real-world desk setups.

  • 72% reported abandoning or deferring mid-process to call support when unsure of the next step.


Personas (Internal & Partner Users)


Persona

Goals

Frustrations

Behavior

Marta (Title Clerk, 41)

Get plates/registration submitted on first pass

Document rules differ by state; unclear error states

Desktop, batch processing 30+ tasks/day

Kevin (Dealer Manager, 34)

Register multiple vehicles quickly & correctly

Inconsistent steps across states; slow exception handling

Desktop, expects speed & predictability

Renee (Accounting, 29)

Reconcile fees & submissions with minimal back-and-forth

Missing fields cause rework; unclear audit trails

Uses exports; needs reliable system statuses

I led a dual-track effort balancing internal constraints and field usability across states.


Stakeholder Discovery

  • 8 interviews with Tag It DMV operations, compliance, and support leads.

  • Mapped state-by-state requirements, portal dependencies, and policy wording that could not be changed.

  • Identified conflict hotspots where legal phrasing blocked clarity; defined safe microcopy patterns with legal sign-off.

  • Prioritized dealer workflows and title-clerk tasks with the highest error and ticket rates.


User Research

  • 12 dealer/title-clerk interviews across high-volume partners; 50 surveys across 8 states.

  • Top pain points: unclear required documents, inconsistent naming across states, and non-responsive layouts under real-world desk setups.

  • 72% reported abandoning or deferring mid-process to call support when unsure of the next step.


Personas (Internal & Partner Users)


Persona

Goals

Frustrations

Behavior

Marta (Title Clerk, 41)

Get plates/registration submitted on first pass

Document rules differ by state; unclear error states

Desktop, batch processing 30+ tasks/day

Kevin (Dealer Manager, 34)

Register multiple vehicles quickly & correctly

Inconsistent steps across states; slow exception handling

Desktop, expects speed & predictability

Renee (Accounting, 29)

Reconcile fees & submissions with minimal back-and-forth

Missing fields cause rework; unclear audit trails

Uses exports; needs reliable system statuses

I led a dual-track effort balancing internal constraints and field usability across states.


Stakeholder Discovery

  • 8 interviews with Tag It DMV operations, compliance, and support leads.

  • Mapped state-by-state requirements, portal dependencies, and policy wording that could not be changed.

  • Identified conflict hotspots where legal phrasing blocked clarity; defined safe microcopy patterns with legal sign-off.

  • Prioritized dealer workflows and title-clerk tasks with the highest error and ticket rates.


User Research

  • 12 dealer/title-clerk interviews across high-volume partners; 50 surveys across 8 states.

  • Top pain points: unclear required documents, inconsistent naming across states, and non-responsive layouts under real-world desk setups.

  • 72% reported abandoning or deferring mid-process to call support when unsure of the next step.


Personas (Internal & Partner Users)


Persona

Goals

Frustrations

Behavior

Marta (Title Clerk, 41)

Get plates/registration submitted on first pass

Document rules differ by state; unclear error states

Desktop, batch processing 30+ tasks/day

Kevin (Dealer Manager, 34)

Register multiple vehicles quickly & correctly

Inconsistent steps across states; slow exception handling

Desktop, expects speed & predictability

Renee (Accounting, 29)

Reconcile fees & submissions with minimal back-and-forth

Missing fields cause rework; unclear audit trails

Uses exports; needs reliable system statuses

Lo-fi wireframes

Design + Development

Design + Development

Design + Development

Information Architecture + Task Flows

  • Reduced IA depth by ~30% to surface the top actions immediately.

  • Built structured flows for Register a Vehicle, Plate Transfer, Real ID doc handling, and Out-of-State transfers.

  • Introduced state-aware branching so steps and language adjust automatically to local rules.

  • Partnered with compliance to transform policy-heavy content into plain-language microcopy with inline citations for auditors.

  • Increased comprehension scores by 42% (Cloze test) in validation rounds.


Wireframes + Validation

  • Produced 60+ low-fi wireframes; tested over 3 rounds with dealers/title clerks.

  • Tree testing + heatmaps to locate flow bottlenecks; simplified or reordered steps accordingly.

  • Simulated edge cases with live data (e.g., VIN mismatches, multi-owner vehicles, out-of-state records not found).

  • Established a “stoplight” next-step model (clear “ready to proceed” vs. “needs document x” states).


High-Fidelity UI + Accessibility

  • Built a responsive, WCAG 2.2–compliant design system from scratch.

  • Key features:

    • Real-time form validation with localized, actionable errors.

    • Progressive disclosure for complex steps (ID uploads, multiple owners).

    • Dynamic checklists tied to state, vehicle type, and ownership scenario.

    • Sticky status + audit trail for accounting and compliance review.

  • Solved critical edge cases:

    • Multi-state rules changing field requirements mid-flow.

    • VIN not found / database mismatch recovery paths.

    • Document mismatches during Real ID verification.

Hi-fi wireframes

Results

Results

Results

Within 1 month of soft launch, the consolidated platform delivered measurable improvements:


Key Metrics:


Metric

Before

After

Delta

Task Success Rate

56%

92%

↑ +36 pts

Avg. Completion Time

—

−35%

faster

System Usability Score (SUS)

57

85

↑ +28 pts

Support Tickets

—

−40%

drop


  • More Works More Works

REVER®

SaaS | E-commerce

REVER®

SaaS | E-commerce

REVER®

SaaS | E-commerce

SSC Cover

Silver Star Capital

SaaS | E-commerce

SSC Cover

Silver Star Capital

SaaS | E-commerce

SSC Cover

Silver Star Capital

SaaS | E-commerce