Research across three continents and two personas
The research spanned Asia, Europe, and the US — reflecting the manufacturer's global ambition and the significant regional variation in how drivers relate to their vehicles and to technology. Each geography brought different baseline expectations, different technology adoption patterns, and different attitudes toward autonomy and control in the driving experience. The two driver personas anchored the work. Elderly drivers brought concerns about cognitive load, legibility, and safety — a group often underserved by interface design that defaults to the tastes of younger, more tech-fluent users. Younger drivers brought different expectations: connectivity, customisation, and seamless integration with the rest of their digital lives. Designing for both required a clear-eyed understanding of what each group actually needed, rather than assumptions about either. We analysed market landscape, demographic trends, and emerging user requirements to establish design principles and conceptual drivers for near-future HMI experiences. The output gave the manufacturer a strategic foundation — not just what to build, but why, and for whom.
The project covered three interface touchpoints — instrument cluster, heads-up display, and infotainment system — across three continents and two distinctly different driver profiles.
From insight to concept
The strategic foresight phase moved from research synthesis to preliminary concept descriptions — giving the manufacturer tangible starting points for future design and development work. These concepts were validated through qualitative resonance testing across the two customer segments, ensuring that the strategic direction connected with real user responses, not just internal logic. The future insight report provided the manufacturer with a clear view of where the HMI landscape was heading and where their strongest opportunities lay. Concept creation built on that foundation, translating strategic direction into early-stage design thinking that their internal teams could carry forward. The project was one of several we've run at the intersection of foresight and mobility — a space where the rate of change is high, the stakes are significant, and the gap between what people say they want and what they actually need is wide. Bridging that gap requires exactly the combination of research rigour and design sensibility that this project demanded.
Deliverables: future insight report, concept creation, and user research — a full strategic foresight package for a major product decision in a fast-moving category.
Next projects.
(2016-25©)
