UX Storytelling
Physical & Virtual Experience Design Concept Video
8 minute read
The Basics
My Role
- User research
- Design
- Production
Platform
- Phone, tablet, vehicle
Tools
- Market research, trendcasting, user research, brainstorming, storyboarding, illustration, video editing
- Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Acrobat, PowerPoint, YouTube
The Problem
A short project to develop a design scenario for the future of the in-car driving experience in the year 2025 for a luxury car company. Given only one week for the entire project, my focus was primarily on quick research and storyboarding to produce a broad overview of several possible future in-car driving trends. The final trends were put into a video format and submitted to the committee via a YouTube video and a PDF of the process work, which is shown throughout this project page.
Central Question
How might we… Visualize the driving experience in the year 2025?
Solution
Developed a concept design to showcase my research and design capabilities to a potential employer.
Research
Objective
Short on time, research was quick but I tried to incorporate as much user, technological, market, and literary research as possible in such a short amount of time.
Parameters
- What: Current and potential in-car driving systems
- Who: Upscale buyers of luxury vehicles
- Where: Virtual and literary sources
Methodology
- User interviews & surveys
- Usability lab studies & shadowing
- Market review
Project Notes
I began the project by taking the large amount of information given by the client and filtered it down into simple categories to help me better organize my thought process.
User Interviews & Surveys
A quick survey was sent out to a wide audience of friends, family, and acquaintances. I tried to pick the widest sample group I could based on such factors as socioeconomic standing, age, and urban vs. rural residences. Color coding and annotation always help me decipher my scattered thoughts later on in the design process.
Identifying Trends
I also began my research by identifying previous & current trends in automotive interiors. Major factors included tech and sociological trends. For instance, women today are much more likely to be regular drivers than in the 1960s, and the technological leaps since then have been also unprecedented. Research was conducted from user surveys, journal publications, and product observations.
Shown here is a filtering of findings from a variety of resources containing information on both social and technological trends. Color coding and annotation always help me decipher my scattered thoughts later on in the design process. While this is not the entirety of my research resources, it does reflect the overall reach of the trends I discovered.
Initial Brainstorming Reactions
It’s always good to take notes throughout the entire design process. With so many things going on, it is easy to lose a good idea from early on that may have played a key role later on in the project. Write as you go and save everything as the project progresses; documentation is key.
Insights
Technological
- Computing speed will be crucial to run the tech of 2025
- Autonomous and near-autonomous vehicles (3, 11, 13)
- Telemetrics technology, i.e. augmented reality (10),flexible displays (9), and cars with an “intent engine” (8)
- Interactive holographic displays
- Artificial intelligence (3)
- Wearable devices, i.e. ear clip that pairs with brain and tech (9)
- Energy storage (3) – As traditional energy resources become more scarce, the investment in and dependence upon alternative energy sources will become a necessity
Sociological
- Aging world: “By 2020, roughly 60 million Americans, 1 in 6 will be over 65.”(1)
- Expanded global economy and enhanced global connectivity that fosters planetary relationships.(2)
- Expanded global population hits 8 billion by 2025.(6) Tensions will appear between cosmopolitanism and difficult integration of foreigners: An increasing number of inhabitants will become accustomed to dealing with cultural complexity and mobility.(7)
- Increased female economy: “According to analysis by Booz & Company, 870 million global women who have not previously participated in the mainstream economy will gain employment or start their own businesses by 2020.”(1)
- Security concerns: A more connected world means greater risk of professional and personal data intrusion and the cost of privacy will inevitably increase.(2) “From the Ford perspective, there are different levels of security in the vehicle — there’s partitioning around the powertrain and safety systems because it does concern our customers,” Paul Mascarenas, CTO and VP of research and innovation for Ford said.(5)
- Education
Research Bibliography
- The World in 2025: Social Trends, American Institute of CPAs
- Digital Life in 2025, Pew Research Center
- Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, and the Global Economy, McKinsey Global Institute
- Driverless Cars Are Data Guzzlers, The Wall Street Journal
- If You Think Your Car is Smart and Connected Now, Just Wait, Gigaom
- U.N.: World Population to Reach 8.1B in 2025, USA Today
- The World in 2025, p20, European Commission
- The Far Future: Tech Trends of 2025, Fox News Tech
- The Gadgets of 2025: Frog Unveils Vision of the Future, Fox News Tech
- How Augmented Reality is Augmenting Its Own Future, The Next Web
- Prepare for Self-Driving Cars by 2025, PC Magazine
- The Internet Will Be Everywhere In 2025, For Better Or Worse, NPR
- Self-Driving Cars Moving into the Industry’s Driver’s Seat, IHS Markit
Survey Findings
Once the hurried research phase was complete I began to filter the findings into usable data. While the image on the left shows common keywords from the survey results, the right offers some deeper insight from a variety of users. Survey results included a rough hierarcy of needs and some deeper user insights.
Word Cloud Method
The survey provided both qualitative and quantitative data. By creating a word cloud from the most used keywords in the survey responses, I was able to not only get a visual map of what people find most important while driving, but also quantitative data that resulted in a true hierarchy of needs.
Mock Persona
I was able to create a loose set of personas based on the main user and a hypothetical supporting cast in that main character’s life. The main character was based on the demographic that responded to the survey and other research findings about demographics that purchase high-end luxury cars.
Ideation
Brainstorming
From the research insights I was able to start laying out a plan to create a design scenario based on the research findings.From the research insights I was able to start laying out a plan to create a design scenario based on the research findings.
Image Board
An image board was assembled to give a quick reference for styling, concept, and other related ideas.
Dash Mockups
Quick, dirty sketches are a big part of my process. The goal is not to make the prettiest drawing but to get the idea across as simply as possible. Color coding different levels of information and various line weights make for quick but effective ideation sketches.
Development
When designing a scenario, what I’m really doing is designing a story. This makes the design relatable to a larger audience and also places the ideas in a situation that mimics real life, causing it to be much more dynamic than a basic slideshow.
Storyboarding
Shown here is a rough first draft of a storyboard just to get the ideas moving (left)and a more detailed storyboard with annotations and production scripting (right).
Information Modeling
A quick dash layout showing a loose hierarchal clustering of dash information.
Production
Putting together even the shortest of videos entails quite a bit of work. From vector and raster art creation to copywriting and video editing, this is no quick process.
Shown below is a screenshot of the files, folders, and a view of one of the Illustrator files used to create the video (left) and a screenshot of a Photoshop file used in the creation of the video (right).
Final Concept
Visualizing an Experience
Using a wide array of design skills, and a lot of coffee, I was able to put together a fairly comprehensive video in under one week’s time.