Options, Elevated

Redefining the Aircraft Customization Experience for Gulfstream

Problem

When customers are buying $100M+ jets, every interaction should feel just as premium as the aircraft itself. But at Gulfstream, the critical process of selecting aircraft options was being held together by duct tape: spreadsheets, scattered PowerPoints, outdated images, and personal phone galleries.

Sales Executives each had their own approach, leading to inconsistencies in what was shown, how it was presented, and which options were even available. Presentations often relied on a patchwork of printed papers, folders, and clunky laptop setups. Customers weren’t getting the refined experience they expected and Gulfstream wasn’t always capturing every potential sale.

Solution

We designed and delivered a sleek, iPad-based Options app that brought order, elegance, and efficiency to the customization experience.

The app streamlined the entire process: showcasing high-quality visuals, tracking selections in real time, and surfacing cost and weight implications. And all from a single device. Sales Executives could walk into any customer setting and confidently guide them through every decision.

Key benefits included:

  • One tool to present, record, and summarize all choices

  • Real-time updates for cost and weight impacts

  • Push notifications and data sync to ensure option availability

  • Smart categories based on how users actually think

  • Flexible sharing, from entire builds to single-option consults

It turned a scattered process into a cohesive, brand-aligned experience that matched the precision of Gulfstream’s aircraft.

Role

I led product design on this initiative alongside a second designer, embedded in a small, fast-moving agile team with two developers, QA, and a Project Manager. With no dedicated Product Manager, I also owned product strategy, defining the MVP, prioritizing features, and ensuring alignment with user needs and business goals.

My responsibilities included:

  • Conducting interviews with Sales Executives and Interior Designers

  • Participating in role-play simulations of customer meetings

  • Sketching navigation flows and building prototypes

  • Running usability tests and iterative refinements

  • Leading visual design to align with Gulfstream’s premium brand identity

  • Delivering for both 12.9” and 9.7” iPad Pro formats

  • Managing roadmap decisions and stakeholder communication

Timeline: 4 months

Insight

  • Customer meetings could happen anywhere. The tool needed to be mobile, polished, and resilient—at home in both luxury lounges and hotel lobbies.

  • Sales teams carried too much stuff. Reducing physical materials saved time, simplified setup, and elevated focus on the client relationship.

  • Visuals weren’t optional, they were essential. Descriptions alone didn’t cut it. Customers needed to see their options, but many had no professional imagery.

  • Categories looked clean on paper, but failed in practice. Our first test prototypes revealed major friction. Open card sorting helped us reorganize everything based on how users naturally grouped items.

  • Missed options meant missed revenue. Without a clear “decision tracker,” it was easy to skip something. We fixed this with a summary screen showing what was left undecided.

Design

↑ Photo-first option cards with flexible descriptions. Gorgeous imagery paired with expandable details gave just the right amount of context, depending on who was in the room.

↑ Summary view with real-time cost and weight tracking gave a clear snapshot of selections; keeping decisions focused, complete, and aligned with budget and performance needs.

↑ Out-of-date flagging + selective syncing. Push notifications alerted users when options changed. Syncing content without images kept file sizes manageable before meetings.

↑ Privacy-friendly toggles for pricing. Sometimes decision-makers aren’t meant to see cost. Our settings let teams hide sensitive info without fuss.

↑ Refined options list with user-driven categories and clear decision states. Category names emerged from open card sorting, while icons and quantities made each option’s status immediately visible and actionable.

Results

We didn’t just build an app, we reshaped the way Gulfstream connects with its most discerning clients.

  • Standardized a fractured process across teams and devices

  • Enabled confident, mobile-first presentations in any setting

  • Reduced risk of presenting outdated or unavailable options

  • Empowered the Completions team with real-time content control via SharePoint

  • Enhanced brand perception by aligning the tool’s polish with the aircraft’s precision

“What you built is more than an app. It’s a tool that helps us build trust with customers. It makes their decision process feel smooth, clear, and luxurious.”
— Sales Executive, Gulfstream Aerospace

Learnings

  • Small, trusted teams can move mountains. This was our third major effort at Gulfstream, and the trust we’d built let us skip red tape and dive straight into the work.

  • “Just enough documentation” beats process bloat. With strong team rapport, we moved fast by staying lightweight in our deliverables.

  • Bringing users along reduces change resistance. We involved end users early and often. When launch came, they were ready—not resistant.

  • Design doesn’t stop at delivery. Good solutions evolve. Listening post-launch helped us scale what we built into a sustainable system.

Follow-up

Initially, updates to the options content were managed by devs on a quarterly cycle. But that rhythm didn’t match the needs of the field. A year later, we designed a custom SharePoint portal with role-based permissions, giving the Completions team direct control of updates without needing IT.

This shift turned our product from a one-off tool into a living system, and one that could grow with Gulfstream’s needs over time.