Six years ago, I bought a Nissan Leaf. I loved driving an EV, but for what was supposed to be the Electric Car Of The Future, the dashboard experience left a lot to be desired.
As a designer, my first thought was "How would I design a dashboard for a mass-market EV?".
I had a go, and the result was okay, but looking back, a few things just didn't quite work.
So a few years on, this project is updating that idea, introducing some new approaches and expanding on the concept.
To cut to the chase, here are some example final dashboard panels.
Scope and aims
Nissan Leaf 2013 model dashboard
Basics
The dashboard interface of my Nissan Leaf is split into 3 main parts :
Speedometer
Instrument cluster
Media/climate/navigation
Challenges
For the purposes of this project, I based the scope on my own experience with the current Leaf dashboard.
Lack of consistency with controls. Varying control shapes/forms make it harder for the user to learn the UI visual language and discern affordances.
Some features of the interface require the user to take their eyes off the road for too long. eg. small text which takes longer to read, or buttons which are superficially very similar / close together and require longer inspection.
Reliance in increment buttons which require many repeated presses on a regular basis.
Confusing layout order and hierarchy. A lack of alignments or consistency make it hard for users to scan across the whole set of controls. It's hard to quickly locate some controls, even when you know the car well!
Design Principles
From those challenges, I created a set of design principles to act as a usability "North Star".
The driver should never be forced or encouraged to take their eyes off the road for more than a glance. The longer the comprehension time or interaction, the longer the user won't be looking at the road.
Simple clarity. Less density of information for better comprehension.
Hit areas for screen interactions should be as large as possible. Ditto any text intended to be read while car is in motion.
Certain key controls should always be physical, and ideally be usable without the driver having to take their eyes off the road.
Careful balance between an information architecture which is as flat as possible, and quantity of information in each screen.
Climate
Tactility of the rotary encoders matches the increment fineness, and allows differentiation by touch.
Control being adjusted magnifies and illuminates. Rotary encoders illuminate in low light.
Air mix can be adjusted continuously with rotary encoder to mix sources, or by tapping a screen icon.
InfoRMATION
& MEDIA
Large, easily differentiated modules.
Features which can be used primarily with audio/speech rather than reading/text.
Vertically responsive feed modules allow for various combinations of types.
Instrument
cluster
Various permutations of information presentation.
The final result
Alternative low-light view. (Panels shown without steering wheel and other instruments for presentation purposes.)