Role
Product Designer
Team
5 x Designers
Contributions
Strategy
User Research
Design Systems
Interaction Design
Duration
13 weeks
References - Scenic car on road (Porsche), Interior of (Volvo) used for 3d animation.
The automotive industry is racing towards an electric future. MetaDesign sponsored this project to design the next human interface infotainment concept for in-car digital experiences. My team—Brynna Laning, Juyeon Han, Olive Jin, and Savannah Ruedas—and I followed a brief to design five core pilot screen pages (Home, Navigation, Music, Phone, and Apps), along with a speedometer. Our iterative process led to a total of 48 fully functional final screens.
Drivers are distracted for 4.6 seconds when manipulating a device—over twice the safe limit—contributing to 1.6 million crashes annually.
With new cars switching from analog to digital instrument clusters and infotainment systems. It is essential for us to design a concept that allows for intuitive access to critical tasks and information.
Within 2 weeks we conducted individual research sprints to familiarize ourselves with the electric automotive industry.
It was important to understand what was currently on the market. I visited over 10 dealerships to take pictures, notes, and videos of the center pilot screen and speedometer interface flows. Read journals and articles that reviewed specific automotive interfaces in detail. Watched videos about infotainment walk throughs on youtube and reached out to a Sr. UX Researcher at Ford Motor Co. after watching one of her video about the automotive industry.
I reviewed the flows and features of Lucid Air and Tesla Model Y.
Designing a digital automotive interface requires balancing time-to-task for drivers. To better understand this, I analyzed existing user flows from Lucid Air and Tesla, examining how deep users must navigate to access key functions.
After reviewing various existing online resources—social media, blogs, reviews and ratings—a common pattern emerged.
People have mixed opinions about electric vehicle interfaces; however, a common frustration centers around the controversial shift from tactile physical buttons to fully digital touchscreens.
I surveyed 30+ respondents & conducted 3 interviews.
Our team conducted individual interviews and surveys with a wide range of drivers—including those with traditional gas-powered cars, individuals who have never used an electric vehicle interface, and recent buyers of high-tech vehicles—to gain a broad understanding of driver perspectives.
Empathy Map
Data Clustering + Affinity Map
Driver Persona
After combing through the data, I identified 3 key findings across various source types.
How might we design an automotive interface concept that facilitates intuitive access to critical tasks and information for diverse driver needs?
We were placed into teams and given one week to complete a design sprint.
Using insights from our research, we sketched concepts and developed low-fidelity wireframes to explore our initial direction individually.
We came together to discuss each team member’s strategic direction and aligned on a shared vision by merging key ideas.
We liked the direction for the seat/climate control from Brynna option A, the modular effect from Olive option B, the bottom nav bar style from Juyeon option C, and button/visual style from my design option D.
Well over 100+ macro and micro design iterations.
Our team worked with a physical iPad and a car bot to simulate real-world driving conditions. Regular user testing in this setup helped us refine the interface and improve usability throughout the project.
Main pilot center console screen
Using the principle ‘Rule of Thirds’ we designed a vertical falling homepage layout for easily digestible information on the road. 1. Status bar, 2. Widget cluster of three, 3. Bottom navigation.
⟢ Main Pilot Screen & Climate
⟢ Navigation
Navigation
Selected pre-saved school route
Start navigation
Follow the map
End navigation
⟢ Music & Apps
⟢ Phone
Recents
Keypad
Dialing
Calling
⟢ Delighting Drivers with the Safety Score
Inspired by the safety score feature in other electric vehicles, we explored how we could reimagine our approach
How might we mindfully apply gamification to motivate safer driving through rewards instead of penalties?
Ora voice assistance
Safety score weighted average
Score overview and mile stones
Scoring Factors
Achievements
Applied theme
Applied theme
⟢ Digital Instrument Cluster
After multiple iterations, we designed a driver cluster with a clear and intuitive visual hierarchy, helping drivers to quickly form a mental map.
The interface is easily glanceable so that essential information remains within the driver’s line of sight
Wayfinding:
1. Speedometer- speed of the vehicle in miles per hour (mph)
2. Distance to empty- distance vehicle can be driven with remaining energy.
3. Battery SOC (State of Charge) gauge
4. LCD display
5. Space for Warning and indicator lights
6.State of vehicle
7. Odometer - Total distance that the vehicle has been driven.
8. Electric Energy Economy
Wayfinding
Digital instrument cluster in drive
Turning Signal Warning: car on right side
Turning Signal Warning cleared
What I learned: Two key takeaways
Starting a project with no knowledge of the electric automotive industry was challenging, but I found that it was okay not to be an expert in the field—putting in the work to research and understand the industry, market, users, and problems helped tremendously to design solutions based on data.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of collaboration and staying open to change. Our initial design went through multiple rounds of feedback and iteration, and I learned not to get too attached to the first idea.
Final thoughts
My contributions of the pilot home screen, climate controls, and the overall design system. I also collaborated closely on navigation, music, phone integration, the safety score feature, and the speedometer. This was our first time working on an automotive interface, and designing with real-world constraints in mind and testing on the car bot. It was one of the most exciting and rewarding design challenges I’ve had.
If I could adjust one aspect of the brief, I’d consider reintroducing tactile buttons for essential controls like volume and climate. Multi-modal inputs can help accessibility and support a wider range of drivers, especially those with dexterity challenges. Still, it was exciting to explore how voice commands could offer alternative input options in a fully digital system.
It was amazing✨ working alongside my teammates and talented designers—Brynna, Juyeon, Olive, and Savannah.
