Cisco AR My Car — how intelligent, AR-powered interactions can redefine remote experience design
Role
Senior Product Designer
Interaction Designer
Visual Designer
Prototype & Motion Design
UX Systems Arch
Year
2021-2022
Surface
iOS Mobile
Webex Desktop
AR Interface
Overview
As automotive service centers adapted to EV and hybrid growth, a major client partnered with Cisco’s Emerging Tech team to explore how AR and AI could streamline remote diagnostics and support. The goal was to create a unified experience that blended computer vision, real-time collaboration, and intuitive AR guidance.
Early prototypes leaned technical—strong computer vision, but low user trust. I was brought in to define the interaction architecture, confidence UI, and overall visual design system that made complex AI behavior clear, legible, and human.
Business & User Goals
Business goal | Reduce dependency on in-person diagnostics and position Cisco’s AR platform as a bridge between support, sales, and service.
User goal | Give customers a clear, confidence-building AR experience that blends autonomy with access to expert help.
Design Process
Experience Architecture — Defined spatial interaction models and AI-to-user communication patterns for AR guidance, balancing immersion with clarity.
Visual System Design — Built confidence-based UI states using gradients, motion, and color hierarchy to visualize AI recognition certainty in real time.
Technical Collaboration — Partnered with engineering to translate PyTorch/TensorFlow model outputs into dynamic AR overlays through Flask integrations.
User Testing Loop — Established Cisco Emerging Tech’s first structured UX testing process, validating motion, visibility, and lighting performance in field conditions.
UI Refinement — Introduced high-contrast palette, adaptive typography, and simplified motion to ensure legibility across diverse automotive environments.
Dual-Path UX Model — Designed flows for both self-guided overlays and Webex-assisted collaboration, creating a seamless handoff between autonomy and support.
Evolution to Pre-Sales — Repurposed the same AR infrastructure for showroom-style demos, extending the product from repair to immersive sales experiences.
Outcomes
Pilots across California and Michigan reduced unnecessary service visits by double-digits %.
The visual framework and interaction model were later extended into Webex integrations establishing a unified design system that could flex across contexts—from troubleshooting to interactive sales.
Impact
AR My Car proved that strong UI communication and spatial design can make complex AI interactions feel confident, guided, and intuitive. The project reframed Cisco’s AR tech as both a trust-building diagnostic tool and a dynamic engagement layer.
I personally led the hand-off integration to the Webex business unit within Cisco, including our source code and design library for full offer integration.
Jess Scott, California U.S.A.
I've been thinking deeply about how design transforms technology for over ten years. I scale ideas from head-scratching kernels of 'what-if' into cutting-edge portfolios for Fortune 50 companies.
