MCLAREN

COMBINING KEY FEATURES FOR AN ENHANCED DRIVER EXPERIENCE

As part of the hiring process for a UX Engineer position at McLaren Automotive, I was asked to complete a design task exploring how Navigation, Trip Computer, and Dashcam could be merged into a single application that makes journeys in a McLaren, “effortlessly epic.”

I was offered the job, but unfortunately, due to the recent merger, funding for the position was pulled before I could start.

For this brief, I FOLLOWED a four step approach

01.

02.

03.

04.

Competitor anAlysis

IDEA GENERATION

IDEAS IN MOTION

CONCEPTING & DESIGN

Competitor anAlysis

01.

Before answering the question of how I combine Navigation, the Trip Computer, and the Dashcam, I needed to understand what I didn’t know. What was popular in the luxury vehicle market? How were the biggest names in the industry handling in-car systems? What did I like? And what did I think wouldn’t work for McLaren?

To answer these questions I spent some time in the dealerships of Porsche, BMW, Mini, Genesis, and Polestar, playing around with the infotainment systems in their cars and chatting to the sales people.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sit in a McLaren so I had to use online resources and McLaren’s car configurator to gain a better understanding of their internal systems.

KEy findings

Whether it’s through a companion app, or in the car, pre-planning a journey is a prime opportunity to add value to a users journey.

Pre plan

HUDs are on the rise, they look good, but have obvious usability problems

HUDs

Over complicating infotainment systems, both with features and UI leads to confusing interactions

Less is more

The infotainment system should feel unique to that manufacturer, through both features and feel

brand PRESENCE

There are two screen available, make sure they’re used effectively and appropriately

Multiscreen

IDEA GENERATION

02.

Once I had a better understanding of how various car infotainments systems worked, I began to ideate.

I took influence from my research, alongside popular navigation apps, F1, GoPro and Playstation to create the following ideas.

The Navigation System should benefit from an updated route planning procedure, offering different routes dependant on driver needs and preferences.

the navigation system should also gain greater awareness of it’s surroundings, with the ability to feedback relevant information to the trip computer

Think Waze but with suggestions for the best driving roads

NAVIGATION SYSTEM

The Trip Computer should use the data it captures to better understand driver behaviours, allowing the navigation system to provide improved route calculations

the trip computer should also communicate with the navigation system to suggest, and enact, updates to the vehicles performance settings.

Think having an F1 pit wall in your car.

TRIP COMPUTER

The dash cams should always be in use, they should be recording the drivers journey to allow for clips to be saved on the go, and provide a highlight reel at the end of the journey

The dash cams should also be able to scan the road for upcoming hazards and communicate this to the rest of the vehicle

Think instant highlights of your drive across France..

DASH CAMS

  • Expected existing features

  • Proposed new features

FULL FEATURE LISTING

  • Maps (general location)

  • Maps (finding routes)

  • Traffic updates

  • Speed limits

  • Directions

  • Nearest amenities (services, parking etc)

  • Suggested routes depending on driving style and preferences

  • Suggested routes focussed on different types of drive (economy, scenic, time)

  • Awareness of surrounding area (city, motorway, countryside)

NAVIGATION SYSTEM

  • Trip Length (Distance)

  • Trip Length (Time)

  • MPG

  • Average speeds

  • Fuel levels

  • Fuel consumption

  • Electric charge

  • Electric consumption

  • Driving styles & behaviours

  • Awareness of current engine and handling modes

  • Suggestions for engine modes depending on route

TRIP COMPUTER

  • Parking Assistance

  • Journey recording

  • Crash detection

  • Proximity detection

  • Assisted awareness of other cars and deployment of safety features

  • Assisted awareness of road hazards

  • Highlight reel of journeys

  • Ability to track and film other cars

  • Track recordings and analysis

DASH CAMS

03.

IDEAS IN MOTION

To properly demonstrate my ideas, I thought through a user’s journey of driving a McLaren from Nice to Monaco, from first getting in the car, to arriving at their destination.

This allowed me to demonstrate all the ways in which my ideas would improve the Navigation Systems, Trip Computer, and Dash Cams and show how they would work together in various different, real-life, scenarios.

CONCEPTING AND DESIGN

04.

Focussing on the two screens available in a McLaren (Driver display and central display), I mocked up several concept designs to demonstrate how my ideas would look and feel.

All my work was very well received and I was told that my approach and thinking was exactly what they were looking for.