The Global Mobile Alerts Experience

Global Mobile Alerts (GMA) set out to reduce distracted driving through real-time audio and visual alerts delivered via mobile and in-car infotainment systems. The system warns drivers as they approach high-risk zones such as school areas, traffic signals, and railroad crossings. My team led the complete UX and UI design for both the mobile and in-car interfaces, collaborating directly with GMA’s founder and CEO. While technical development encountered setbacks, our design work laid a strong foundation for an experience focused on clarity, responsiveness, and global accessibility—including a fully localized Arabic version for the Saudi Arabian market.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of road fatalities worldwide. Global Mobile Alerts was conceived to address this with a simple but powerful premise: warn drivers before danger is near. From school zones to red-light intersections, the GMA app and infotainment interface aimed to alert users contextually and non-invasively. I led the UX design across both platforms, building an interface that worked intuitively across touchscreens and mobile devices—designed for minimal distraction and maximum clarity. We worked hand-in-hand with the CEO to translate the vision into a product that prioritized road safety without overloading the user.

  • Internationalization from Day One:
    A major initiative was designing a fully localized version of the product for Saudi Arabia. This required not only RTL (right-to-left) UI accommodation for Arabic but cultural sensitivity in iconography, tone, and layout flow.

  • Relationship-Driven Collaboration:
    Despite friction between technical teams and the client, our design collaboration was a highlight. We built strong trust with the CEO, allowing us to guide the vision and bring structure to an otherwise contentious process

Key Insights & Drivers

  • Focus on sustainability, proprietary technology, and data Context is Everything:
    Drivers don't need constant data—they need the right alert at the right time. Our UX strategy prioritized timely, location-triggered alerts with a “just enough” approach: clear language, simple visuals, and no added cognitive load.

  • Platform-Specific UX:
    Mobile and in-car infotainment systems behave differently. We developed dedicated experiences for both, considering screen size, touch interactions, OS restrictions, and glanceable UI patterns unique to each environment.

  • Safety First, Always:
    All design decisions were filtered through a safety lens. We removed clutter, avoided multi-step actions, and introduced smart defaults that let drivers stay focused on the road.

leading through cross-functional tension

This project was a case study in navigating friction across teams. While our design team had an open, trust-based relationship with the client—particularly the CEO—the engineering and internal stakeholder side of the engagement was plagued by misalignment, missed expectations, and tension that frequently spilled into meetings.

Rather than retreat from the conflict, I took on a mediating role where possible, ensuring design maintained momentum and didn’t become collateral damage. We focused on transparency, over-communicated our rationale, and made sure our work was airtight, professional, and forward-compatible—regardless of internal politics.

This experience strengthened my belief that design leadership isn’t just about pixels—it’s about people, process, and diplomacy. Maintaining client trust, showing up consistently, and delivering excellence even in imperfect

Decisions & Impact

  • Designed to Reduce Driver Friction:
    We implemented non-invasive alerts—clear tones and minimal on-screen information—to align with real-world driving contexts. Testing showed users preferred short, glanceable interactions versus dense data readouts.

  • Mapping Risk with Clarity:
    We introduced a real-time map that dynamically marked upcoming “alert zones,” helping drivers prepare in advance. Visual zones expanded as proximity increased, and audio prompts followed accessibility best practices.

  • Designed, Documented, and Ready to Build:
    Although development challenges prevented launch, our design team delivered high-fidelity interactive prototypes, UI kits, and interaction specs ready for handoff. The work remains a scalable blueprint for future development phases.

  • Global Vision, Local Execution:
    The Arabic version became a model for how the app could expand globally, adapting to both language and road system conventions—without sacrificing brand or core usability.