BMW+SCAD

Project Overview

SCAD held the project collaborated with BMW. The object was to explore future in-car interfaces and digital HMI (Human Machine Interface) experiences while developing concepts for new interface designs, integrated technology, and integrating the consumer ecosystem look and feel.

This project is a significant project I did at SCAD. It’s the first time I worked end-to-end on interaction design, and it impressed me how meaningful and powerful a good interface can be. And it made me change my mindset from “outside matters the most” to a more holistic understanding that “anything regardless hardware or software or service should be a unified experience to the user.”

Double Diamond & Scrum

The Double Diamond is divided into four distinct phases: Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver. This system charts the design process’s main passing points. We were firstly working when idealization and opportunities are broad and going into situations where they are intentionally narrowed down and focused on individual goals.

Over the ten weeks of this project, inspired by this framework, our class used a process called Scrum. It consists of several roles, including Scrum Master(s), Scrum Product Owner(s), and the Scrum Team. And it consists of a board of stories to be completed throughout the process by the Scrum Team. These individual stories are created by filling in the phrase “As a (role), I want (feature) so that (benefits).”

Learning The Brand

After setting up the process, the first thing we did was to learn more about this 100-year-old automotive company. Luckily, we had the BWM design team on the ground that provided us with plenty of stories about the company's history, value, and brand.

Current Interaction Model

Today, primary driving-related information is shown in the Instrument Cluster (A) and the Heads Up Display (B), respectively. Secondary data is shown in the Central Information Display (C). Currently, the interface is controlled by the iDrive Controller (D) and/or basic controls on the Steering Wheel (E).

The Industry & Future Technologies

Varieties of premium vehicles already exist on the roads, competing for consumers' attention. Materials, methods, and target demographic all contribute to helping differentiate BMW and defining the final concept, which creates an emotional connection.

Our class spent long hours researching and studying other technologies and designs. Coming up with unique and innovative technologies can only be accomplished after being exposed to what is already available.

ABQ Approaches

When given the challenge of designing a new vehicle for BMW, we decided to tackle it in a process that would help organize our brainstorming into three separate concepts. First, the ABQ model is a SCAD-founded design process that gives the user categories ranging from most practical to the most futuristic.

• A is done with the current technology that will be available shortly,

• B is with technology that is currently under prototype that may be available,

• Q is with technology still under the concept and most likely will not be available any time soon.

Our team produced nine different concepts with three specific ideas in each class with ABQ in mind. We used these forms as a baseboard for a system of deduction and condensation into a more solid and unified concept, which we later constructed into various physical attributes.

Sketches

As with anyone who deals with the design process, sketching is an inarguably crucial aspect. Everyone on our team, regardless of major, partook in sketching to obtain the biggest possible pool of ideas to choose from. The initial sketching we did in the double diamond ideation procedure was to get ideas. Later, we critiqued and selected feasible designs to build on. Lastly, we did sketches for final concepts to mold our ideas into a professional presentation. This method allowed us to communicate beyond our barriers of majors and various backgrounds and thus facilitated the entire production.

Wireframe & Prototype

The central horizontal display we used was significant in our interactive design model. We wanted the user to achieve any operation they wished to do in only a few steps and minimal hindrance.

These wireframes were created to give a clean and easy-to-read initial concept and be resized to fit onto any display surface. Moving from the initial design, we created an interactive mockup and tested the slides on various users to establish which points were useable and non-user friendly. The constant reiteration was indeed a time-consuming hassle. Still, in the end, we have achieved a level of usability that we wouldn’t have accomplished with a straight to finalized paper sketch.

Visual Language

The visual language of the interface was developed with the qualities of the industrial framework of a BMW car in mind. It mimics the underlying horizontal structure of the interior while straying from the boxed-in nature of a rectangular screen.

The driver processes a continuous stream of complex information when operating a vehicle. Therefore, for example, any additional visual communication from an in-car screen naturally increased the load on his mental capacity. Reducing this extra visual load can be achieved in two main ways, first, by reducing the level of visual distraction that may tempt the driver’s attention and, second, reducing the time necessary for the driver to get the information he needs so that he can return his attention to the road.

A visual hierarchy is also introduced, in which certain functions or notifications will activate only upon cue and retract to an unobtrusive, dimmed state when necessary. Also, the more critical elements of the interface’s functions stand out more through higher contrast than various secondary functions.

Driver Safety

Another important mentality behind the design decision is based on driver safety. By utilizing specific call-out iconography, the HUD draws a driver's attention to the alert source and reduces the risk of unclear alert-to-source orientation. Another feature aiding driver safety and comfort is a customizable HUD icon cluster. In the context of this specific area, the driver has control over what icons are displayed and their location. Thus, the driver controls creating an interface that caters to their preference.

Tactile Interface

The knobs were based on the human factors of tactile control. A tangible physical control is not innovative, but its use and the intelligent fabric or surface behind it are. The intelligent fabric displays simplified information that requires little to no visual load. The displayed graphics correspond to the user’s control of the knob, creating a harmonious relationship between user intention and interaction result.

Creating A Personal Ambassador - The Key

Our understanding of the sense of pride and personal success that comes with owning a BMW car is best represented through the key's physical presence and digital functionality. It is a talisman of sorts, which accompanies the driver everywhere, even when he is not in the car. As such, it offers the opportunity to affirm one’s ownership of the Ultimate Driving Machine. The key behaves like a personal ambassador to the vehicle.

Our goal was to extend the functionality of the in-car interface, at least at a basic level, into the key. This would allow the driver to adjust preferences externally and have them update upon approach to the car. Additionally, the driver would receive updates on the car’s information.

Tell A Story

In the end, We packaged our concepts into a story hoping that it would be an effective way of communicating the human meaning behind the application of our ideas. The story is segmented into various aspects of the BMW experience of the future so that a broader range of our life’s short journeys can be presented.