CarGurus

CarGurus

CarGurus

CarGurus

Branding and digital transformation for a billion-dollar car marketplace

Branding and digital transformation for a billion-dollar car marketplace

Branding and digital transformation for a billion-dollar car marketplace

Branding and digital transformation for a billion-dollar car marketplace

CarGurus, the largest online car marketplace in the US, was looking for a consultant to help finish their visual identity after completing a comprehensive brand project with DDB. The elements were there, but the typography, colors and layout principles were print-focused. With CarGurus being an online-only company, I shifted the brand ID to be digital-first by selecting screen-friendly typefaces, creating digital color palette and selecting a more simple icon style. I also commissioned car and lifestyle photography for the brand, and created the brand guidelines.

The process of roll-out the new brand was a highly complex and cross-functional project. I led the redesign of all corporate & marketing assets, while being integral to the communication and technical process. The new brand was extremely well-received internally and provided the foundation to improve the design quality across all customer touchpoints.

Digital brand work

CarGurus hadn't updated their homepage in over 8 years and I used that project to translate the new brand into the UX design system. With the size and scale of the website we were blocked from updated the brand across all marketing pages, so I launched a new landing page capability to unlock speed and testing for product and marketing webpages. As well as introducing high quality animation and UGC into CarGurus performance marketing, improving ad efficiency.

Creative direction, graphic design & UX/UI: Cara Phillips
Graphic design: Ashley Whitling, Rob Morrisette, Elena Kidman
Visual design & UX/UI: Claire Casserio
Copy: Diane Ly & Amanda Giddon
Brand strategy: DDB, Allison Conroy & Amanda Giddon


CarGurus, the largest online car marketplace in the US, was looking for a consultant to help finish their visual identity after completing a comprehensive brand project with DDB. The elements were there, but the typography, colors and layout principles were print-focused. With CarGurus being an online-only company, I shifted the brand ID to be digital-first by selecting screen-friendly typefaces, creating digital color palette and selecting a more simple icon style. I also commissioned car and lifestyle photography for the brand, and created the brand guidelines.

The process of roll-out the new brand was a highly complex and cross-functional project. I led the redesign of all corporate & marketing assets, while being integral to the communication and technical process. The new brand was extremely well-received internally and provided the foundation to improve the design quality across all customer touchpoints.

Digital brand work

CarGurus hadn't updated their homepage in over 8 years and I used that project to translate the new brand into the UX design system. With the size and scale of the website we were blocked from updated the brand across all marketing pages, so I launched a new landing page capability to unlock speed and testing for product and marketing webpages. As well as introducing high quality animation and UGC into CarGurus performance marketing, improving ad efficiency.

Creative direction, graphic design & UX/UI: Cara Phillips
Graphic design: Ashley Whitling, Rob Morrisette, Elena Kidman
Visual design & UX/UI: Claire Casserio
Copy: Diane Ly & Amanda Giddon
Brand strategy: DDB, Allison Conroy & Amanda Giddon


CarGurus, the largest online car marketplace in the US, was looking for a consultant to help finish their visual identity after completing a comprehensive brand project with DDB. The elements were there, but the typography, colors and layout principles were print-focused. With CarGurus being an online-only company, I shifted the brand ID to be digital-first by selecting screen-friendly typefaces, creating digital color palette and selecting a more simple icon style. I also commissioned car and lifestyle photography for the brand, and created the brand guidelines.

The process of roll-out the new brand was a highly complex and cross-functional project. I led the redesign of all corporate & marketing assets, while being integral to the communication and technical process. The new brand was extremely well-received internally and provided the foundation to improve the design quality across all customer touchpoints.

Digital brand work

CarGurus hadn't updated their homepage in over 8 years and I used that project to translate the new brand into the UX design system. With the size and scale of the website we were blocked from updated the brand across all marketing pages, so I launched a new landing page capability to unlock speed and testing for product and marketing webpages. As well as introducing high quality animation and UGC into CarGurus performance marketing, improving ad efficiency.

Creative direction, graphic design & UX/UI: Cara Phillips
Graphic design: Ashley Whitling, Rob Morrisette, Elena Kidman
Visual design & UX/UI: Claire Casserio
Copy: Diane Ly & Amanda Giddon
Brand strategy: DDB, Allison Conroy & Amanda Giddon


©2024 cara Phillips. All rights reserved

©2024 cara Phillips. All rights reserved