Outdoorsy RV Handoff

Outdoorsy's peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace had invested heavily in its booking and payment experience, but the physical handoff between owner and renter remained a paper-based, ad hoc process that introduced friction, liability, and trust gaps.

These gaps resided at a critical point in the rental process: the moment the keys to the RV changed hands. During Outdoorsy's Lab Day initiative, I identified this as the platform's most significant unaddressed experience gap and built a mobile-first solution to close it.

The complete UX process documentation for this engagement lives at the direct link below.

Read the complete case study

  • The RV handoff — the moment an owner transfers their vehicle to a renter — was entirely outside the platform experience. No digital record of vehicle condition, no structured inspection process, no in-app documentation for either party. For a platform built on peer-to-peer trust, this was a strategic vulnerability: disputes over damage, condition, or expectations had no reliable source of truth. The gap was costing both owner confidence and renter trust at the exact moment the rental relationship was established.

    • Daryle M. // Lead Designer

    • Ben R. // Lead Designer

    • Sarah B. // Lead Researcher

  • Conducted a content and visual audit of the existing handoff process — mapping every friction point from booking confirmation through key exchange and vehicle inspection. Led design alongside a second designer and researcher to develop a mobile-first handoff flow that digitized the inspection process, created a structured condition record for both parties, and brought the key exchange moment fully inside the Outdoorsy platform experience.

  • The redesign addressed a critical trust gap in the Outdoorsy platform — bringing the most vulnerable moment of the rental relationship into a structured, documented, in-app experience. The solution held high-impact potential for dispute reduction, owner confidence, and renter trust. The friction identified in this process directly inspired subsequent independent product development — a startup concept currently in prototyping that reimagines the key exchange problem across peer-to-peer rental platforms more broadly.

  • The first designer I've worked with who was interested in the data behind the designs

    "Daryle is a very skilled designer who devotes a lot of time working with engineers and other designers to build sophisticated UI. He was involved with several projects I worked on, and I couldn't get over just how many designs he created that covered every aspect of the feature. His designs are clean and very pleasing to the eye. I appreciated that he was always available to answer questions whenever needed. He was also the first designer I've worked with who was interested in the data behind the designs. Highly recommended!"

    — Marty Miller, Senior Android Developer

  • The ability to translate complex problems into ultra-intuitive, elegant solutions

    "One of Daryle’s standout strengths is his ability to simplify complex problems and translate them into ultra-intuitive, elegant solutions. He demonstrated this by taking a predominantly paperwork, owner-to-renter process and transformed it into a mobile-first experience. He also brings a deep understanding of accessible design and was instrumental in guiding both our design and engineering teams toward building inclusive components that serve a broad range of users."

    — Ben Richard, Product Design Leader

  • An obvious passion for the user-centered design process

    "Daryle is an exceptional UX professional with a keen eye for detail and an obvious passion for the user-centered design process. He has demonstrated a consistent ability to influence product strategy by leveraging data and insights, along with a natural ability to clearly articulate the rationale behind his decision-making. I have no doubt that Daryle's experience will help elevate any design/product team and I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked with him."

    — Dion Alexander, Product Design Consultant

  • Thinks about the entire 360 of his work

    "Daryle is a superb human being, kind, funny and caring. He brings those qualities, plus his incredible design skills, to his work day in and day out. Daryle thinks about the entire 360 of his work, from the impact his designs have on engineering to how the end user will experience them. He took the lead on accessibility for our team, continually sharing valuable guidance with designers and others in a way that was easy to understand and act on. On top of all that, he always has a smile and a music recommendation (probably someone you’ve never even heard of) at the ready."

    — Sara Womack, UX Writer & Content Strategist

  • Valiantly represents the customer throughout the product experience

    "I had the pleasure of working with someone that was both a brilliant designer and friend. Daryle and I collaborated for over a year across various projects and building out our design system. Daryle is incredible at providing thoughtful feedback, and I was most stricken by how valiantly he could represent the customer throughout the product experience. His positive attitude will be missed, but I look forward to following his impeccable DJ holiday sets. I highly recommend Daryle if you need a great design lead!"

    — Chije Wangati, Senior Product Designer