In this case study I redesigned certain aspects of one of the most exciting new players in the EV (electric vehicle) market, the Zeekr 001, to better reflect industry standards, empower users, and communicate with the new, younger generation of drivers.
While the Zeekr 001 specs are impressive, the car faces one major issue: their UX/UI looks exactly like their top competitor, Tesla. Zeekr should recognize that today, no EV brand has established a gold standard for automotive user experience (UX). Tesla continues to lose market share to new EV competitors and automotive UX disruptors such as Apple CarPlay have yet to take over the automotive industry. Zeekr should establish their own unique UX to set them further apart from EV competitors.
Before this project, I knew little about automotive UX. Designing for unfamiliar screen sizes (dashboard, infotainment, and HUD) with new restraints was challenging, and forced me to thoughtfully consider why I was making certain design choices.
To work through unfamiliarity, I spent more time doing research than ideating and designing. I used Screens Studio to research how dozens of other cars navigated UX for problems like tire pressure and alerts. My research was especially rewarding later on when I could reference competitors to justify my design decisions in presentations and pitches. I’ve re-learned that dedication to research is a rewarding practice no matter how comfortable I feel with a UX challenge.
In automotive UX, safety is king. The infotainment nav bar should be moved closer to the driver so it’s more accessible for drivers who need to steer and reach over to the touch screen at the same time. This design change is informed by Lucid, who recently changed their UI in a similar fashion through an OTA update. Separating the nav bar from HVAC controls also allows for larger and more accessible touch targets.
Nearly half of younger drivers (millennial/Gen Z) are unable to recognize the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TMPS) warning symbol, according to a recent study. Future drivers should no longer be expected to understand warning signals on visual cues alone, so it is important to accompany warnings such as TPMS with text that explains the problem.
A popped tire, low tire pressure, or other tire issues can be extremely dangerous and stressful for drivers. The Zeekr 001 should empower drivers to feel confident in these situations with calls-to-action and accessible information in TPMS warnings.
Use of cards chunks information to reduce cognitive load on drivers (if you have a popped tire, you don’t want a ton of text thrown at you at once while driving). Empowering Zeekr drivers to solve car problems themselves will create deep connections between them and their car, enhancing their overall UX.
Designing screens for cars presents UX designers with an unfamiliar problem: design for users who shouldn’t be looking at the screen. For safety, information on car infotainment, dashboard, and HUD screens should be digested immediately so drivers can focus on the road. Side note – yes, this is subject to change as cars become more autonomous.
I found that it is therefore important to express information in cars through multiple formats (more specifically, using text, color, icons, graphics, and more if possible). This consideration is especially important for the future of automotive UX, since current representations of car information are becoming antiquated.
