How design and copy work together when every pixel counts.
Ford Pro™ Telematics Drive is the companion app for Ford Pro™ Telematics. Designed with both drivers and fleet managers in mind, the app offers handy features like Inspections, Live Map, and Vehicle and Fleet Health status. It’s all about helping fleets minimise downtime and keep their businesses running smoothly.
Challenges
- Backend constraints
- Consistency with web app
- Limited space
Responsibilities
- Create UX Copy
- Implement & advocate the UX copy process
- Improve the localisation process
The eternal chicken and egg problem, what comes first, design or copy?
The UX copy process
When I first joined Ford, I was right there in the thick of it with the mobile team as their very first UX writer. It was such an incredible time for growth. My designer colleagues became my closest allies and partners, and I learned so much from them: from the nuts and bolts of structuring a Figma file to navigating a meaningful design process and how to approach design and UX copy even with tough back-end limitations. That experience really shaped my philosophy: it’s never about whether design or copy comes first, but how we can team up to solve the problem at hand.
Some copy samples
More copy samples →
Maintaining consistency between web and mobile
The app actually followed in the footsteps of the Telematics web platform. This meant a lot of the features were already set in stone, so my challenge was to tweak and adapt that existing content for the smaller mobile screen.
That said, we did get to roll out some features on both platforms at the same time. Driver Score was a favourite of mine because I had to explain the complex math behind it without overwhelming the user. Finding that sweet spot between technical detail and limited screen space is exactly why I got in UX copy in the first place.
* Since I can’t show the actual screens here, you’ll have to enjoy the blur, but I’d be happy to chat about the details in person
Lasting impact
Oana has an exceptional eye for detail combined with a strong product mindset and a deep understanding of UX. She developed a pragmatic, clear, and consistent tone of voice for Ford that significantly improved usability across our products and helped the design team push UX quality to a higher standard.
Beyond her craft, she made a lasting impact on how the design team worked. She actively contributed to our ways of working and consistently elevated both the team’s and stakeholders’ understanding of the value of thoughtful, well-crafted UX writing. Her ability to clearly articulate why words matter made her a trusted partner across disciplines.
Robert Sheppard, Senior Designer
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© 2026 Oana Petrache