Role
Design Director
Type
Mobile
Industry
Retail
Asda Think Programme: A clearer first-day experience for new drivers
TL;DR
Asda needed a way to scale driver training across its growing delivery network. I designed a mobile-first onboarding tool that replaced classroom sessions and static PDFs with a clearer, more consistent experience. It improved driver confidence, reduced training costs and provided a scalable foundation for future learning content.
Who is Asda?
Asda is one of the UK’s leading supermarket retailers, serving millions of customers each week through a network of large-format stores, convenience outlets and delivery services. Founded in Yorkshire in the 1960s, the brand is known for its value-led approach and accessible pricing. Services like Home Delivery and Click & Collect have reshaped how customers interact with Asda, moving the experience beyond the store.
My role
As Design Director on the project, I shaped both the brand expression and the full digital experience for the Think Programme. I set the creative direction while staying hands-on across UX, UI and visual design, balancing high-level thinking with execution.
I worked with L&D writers to translate early content and structural ideas into a cohesive, user-focused product. I also defined the design direction, contributed to the product roadmap, facilitated working sessions to align priorities, and kept stakeholders engaged throughout.
Problem statement
ASDA’s training for new delivery drivers relied on classroom sessions and static PDF guides spread over two weeks. It was time-consuming, inconsistent across locations, and difficult to scale as demand for home delivery grew.
The business needed a digital experience that was easy to access, simple to follow, and capable of delivering consistent messaging across teams and regions. Just as importantly, it had to support retention through bite-sized, engaging content that helped drivers build knowledge and confidence before their first shift. The experience also needed to reflect ASDA’s customer promise of being Easy, Fast and Friendly.
Research
Personas
There wasn’t any formal user research for this project, but I still wanted the experience to work well for a broad mix of new drivers. To guide early design decisions, I created a set of proto-personas based on key differences in digital confidence, language ability, age and learning style.
Martin (56 years)
Background: Recently retired bus driver
Tech confidence: Low
First language: English
Needs:
Prefers clear instructions and familiar patterns
Likely to take a cautious approach with new tech
Reassurance that he’s “doing it right”
Benefits from a calm, uncluttered experience
Learning style:
Slower-paced and text-based
Prefers to read and absorb content at his own speed
Amina (32 years)
Background: Former hospitality worker
Tech confidence: Medium
First language: Arabic
Needs:
Picks things up quickly but benefits from visual support
Needs clear language with minimal jargon
English isn’t her first language, so clear labelling helps build confidence
Learning style:
Visual and sequential
Responds well to bite-sized content with a clear structure
Jay (24 years)
Background: First full-time job after retail
Tech confidence: High
First language: English
Needs:
Expects a fast, intuitive experience with native app-like interactions
Frustrated by unnecessary friction or lengthy explanations
Wants key information surfaced quickly and clearly
Learning style:
Hands-on and interactive
Learns best through doing rather than reading
Design process
Ideation
The early wireframes from the L&D team were based on desktop designs, which worked in theory but didn’t fit the needs of mobile users. They felt static and lacked common mobile patterns, like modals and touch-friendly layouts. This prompted a rethink of the experience to better align with mobile users’ expectations, aiming for a design that felt more natural, fluid, and user-friendly on smaller screens.
Visually, I explored a few directions, including geometric shapes and a mix of illustration and photography. I was leaning towards photography but flagged the issue of asset availability. To solve this, Asda arranged a shoot based on the design direction I set, grounding the experience in something real and relatable.
Asda mobile starting screen concepts.
Asda look and feel concepts.
Wireframing
Given that the original designs were desktop-focused, my first task was to adapt them for mobile. I focused on optimising the flow, interactions, and pacing to make sure the content was digestible and didn’t overwhelm the user.
To ensure consistency and efficiency, I created a flexible component library, which the development team could use for quick implementation. When necessary, I adjusted layouts or introduced new components, keeping everything documented and shared for alignment across teams.
Translating desktop wireframes into mobile with a component library.
Asda component library templates.
Prototyping
As part of the early design phase, I created a functional prototype to bring one complete learning module to life. While not fully polished, it provided a strong top-level clickthrough experience that combined layout, transitions and key interactions. This gave stakeholders, developers and the client a clear sense of how the content would feel in practice.
The prototype helped align everyone on structure, tone and pacing before development began.
Visual design
The Think Programme was made up of eight modules, each designed to stand alone while still feeling part of a consistent system. To support different learning styles, we used a mix of media including short videos, photography, illustrations and lightweight animations. Each module ended with a short knowledge check to help reinforce the key takeaways.
I expanded Asda’s core identity into a mobile-friendly visual system. Building on the existing logo and colour palette, I created something clean, supportive and easy to navigate. Photography was used to reflect real environments and tasks, such as van loading and customer interaction. Custom illustrations added clarity and kept the experience inclusive.
Typography, colour and UI elements were intentionally simple to avoid overwhelming users. The aim was to make everything feel familiar and approachable, regardless of someone’s digital confidence or previous training experience. The system was also built to scale, so future modules could be added without needing to revisit the core design.
Results
Impact
The Think Programme launched as Asda’s core onboarding tool for new delivery drivers. The experience made training faster, easier to access and more consistent across teams.
By replacing classroom sessions and PDF guides with a digital product, Asda improved driver confidence, increased retention and reduced onboarding costs. Stakeholders responded positively to the clarity, accessibility and tone across modules.
Next steps
The project laid the foundations for a scalable design system. The visual language, flexible component library and underlying structure were built to support future learning modules, allowing Asda to grow the platform without needing to redesign the experience.
