Xenos
Designing a playful experience for Electric Vehicles (EVs)
BUSINESS CONTEXT
Consumer adoption of electric vehicles is gaining momentum, but XENOS (a fictional automotive manufacturer) has lagged in the EV space. As an incumbent, XENOS is struggling to innovate.
At a time when electric vehicles are rapidly changing the overall automotive experience and as customer expectations continue to increase…
How might we create new digital interactions between car and driver that connect life's grand moments?
Sprint 1
INITIAL research
To navigate the initial ambiguity of a new project, I like to collect both qualitative and quantitative data by learning about the domain of work, exploring what is currently being done in the market, and getting scrappy about observing users' interactions.
We carried out field research at the Chicago Auto Show to observe how people interact with EVs, what the points of interest and confusion were, and understand what other companies are doing in this space.
opportunity
From our secondary research, we realized that people spend a lot of time behind the wheel, more than an hour daily. Almost half of Americans (45%) go to their car to have a private moment to themselves.
We wanted to make this time spent more relaxing and enjoyable, so we decided to build on the themes of 'rest' and 'play'.
To narrow down the scope, we focused on the archetype of "The Outdoor Enthusiast".
Sprint 2
LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPING & USER FEEDBACK
We shortlisted 5 ideas by voting among ourselves and conducted the first round of user interviews to get feedback on what they value, identify potential barriers to interaction, and iterate on the concepts to better suit their needs.
Writing value proposition hypothesis and opportunity brief for each idea
Creating visual stimuli (storyboards, low-fidelity prototypes) for concept testing
Defining research questions and recruitment criteria to interview 4 EV users through dScout
Based on the feedback, we narrowed down to our final idea.
Surround Snap
Let your car take the picture for you!
An EV camera feature that allows the driver to take pictures of their surroundings while driving with the click of a single button.
Sprint 3
high-fidelity prototyping & refining
Challenge 1 - Making tradeoffs between ease of use and personalization
Before moving to high-fidelity designs, we had to decide on the capture angle and number of photos, which influenced whether we stuck with our single-button feature or opted for more steps.
approach
We conducted a second round of user research, for which I mapped out 4 user flows to test which aligned best with users' mental models.
We also tested:
Users’ preferences about where the photo previews should show up (HUD or cluster)
A variation of icons for the feature and what they meant to the users
Which modalities of interaction were least distracting
Challenge 2 - The camera feature in itself was too simple. We needed to figure out a way to elevate it
approach
We brainstormed different use cases where this concept could be useful and mapped out the experience using the 5E framework.
final design backed by insights
Surround Snap
1
Drivers prefer simplified features with minimal steps to enrich but not distract from the driving experience.
Single Press Button
"I click the camera icon, and that's first to me because I feel like this is what I do naturally in my car while driving is click on whatever I need to access."
- ebony
One Press, 4 Photos
“It’s easier to have the camera take four photos...because anything I don’t want I’ll just delete it.”
- ebony
Voice Command
“For me the voice command or some method that doesn’t require you to reach out and interact with something is most important.”
- nathan
2
Drivers’ trust in a feature is built through clear, familiar, and multi-modal feedback that verifies the execution of their actions.
Camera Shutter Sound
“With digital cameras you hear a click... we’re used to that. So sound to me is important.”
- KEELY
Preview of all Photos
“[The screen would show an] image or a visual or audio cue that you're taking [a picture], and then you'd see that preview.”
- NATHAN
Share Confirmation
“Once I've clicked on the way I wanna share it, I get a confirmation saying this was shared with so and so, whatever.”
- KEELY
3
Photos should be stored in a purposeful and accessible collection for drivers to refer back to at their convenience.
Photo Preservation and Exploration
"We're making memories, and...[it would] be helpful for capturing the local area and scenery and making sure that we have all those photos and videos for our albums."
- ebony
Memories for Each Route
“For me the voice command or some method that doesn’t require you to reach out and interact with something is most important.”
- nathan