Cars and trucks today are powered by software and digital systems. Drivers have access to advanced applications on their dashboards and can interact with their vehicles via their smartphones. This move toward digitization means software designers are now major contributors to drivers' experiences with their cars.
Human-centered design principles should be a guiding force for auto manufacturers as they integrate connected car systems more deeply. When empathy informs key decisions, automakers can create a bond with drivers. Happiness on the road can translate into long-term loyalty.
The connected car market represents an exciting convergence of software development and automotive innovation. Constraints that previously held adoption back are falling away. The expansion of 5G networks has enabled impressive performance for infotainment, diagnostics, navigation, and other key systems while drivers are away from home. Following on the heels of stronger connectivity, over-the-air updates have removed the inconvenience of going to the dealership for updates.
With more opportunities to create powerful applications that interact with cars, a combination of automakers and third-party software developers are competing for a slice of the market. SNS Insider reports the global market size was $10.8 billion in 2023, and it's expected to reach $32.87 billion by 2032.
There is a divide between born-digital automakers like Tesla and longtime industry leaders, but development is ongoing across the industry. Drivers are becoming more familiar with the functionality of connected car apps and the software is moving beyond luxury vehicles. This is an important moment for app design and development. Applying best practices now can help design teams make an impression on an eager potential customer base.
Human-centered design is one of the philosophies that can guide software creation for connected cars. In any context, human-centered design is about creating products with empathy for the users. This means performing research to determine people's authentic requirements and expectations rather than what they may claim to need when asked.
For automakers and other connected car app creators, this means studying how people drive and providing technology to help them be safer and more satisfied behind the wheel. Measuring the specific actions that lead to secure, convenient driving experiences helps designers set their priorities regarding features, user interfaces, and other elements of the overall app experience.
The rise of the first generation of connected cars — vehicles that provide a stream of performance data — is a good starting point for constant iteration and the creation of future automotive apps. Now that automakers have a digital connection with their drivers, they can see, for example, how people interact with their cars' controls in different traffic situations and determine what kinds of interfaces could prove useful in each of those scenarios.
App designs may be especially convenient and useful if they're programmed to react automatically to those changing conditions, offering up the perfect set of options for the moment in real-time as the vehicle's sensors process new situations. The safety elements can come from low-distraction access to information and controls, allowing drivers to spend more time looking at the road and less dealing with unintuitive controls.
A connected vehicle experience shapes the interaction between a person and their car. For many individuals, this is a meaningful part of life, one that takes up a significant portion of time and determines their safety and comfort.
Designers who enter into their projects with a human-centered mindset are on the right track to please users, but how they apply those principles can determine their success and set them apart from the pack.
The key axis defining connected car applications is functionality against simplicity. How many things can the app do, and how easy is it to perform those actions?
It's clear why simplicity is important for car applications. From a human-centered design standpoint, it's naturally problematic to create an app that people will struggle with or that will confuse them. Producing a simple application that does a few things, but does them well, is a good way to keep users comfortable.
Advanced functionality can't come at the expense of simplicity, but it is important. Most auto manufacturers think small with their connected car technology, sticking to basic functionality and offering less-sophisticated interfaces. This has provided an opportunity for brands like BMW and its subsidiary Mini to offer new features like trip planning and sustainability tracking and set themselves apart.
Carmakers and third parties that take a slightly more ambitious approach than their competitors — while not losing sight of design best practices — can place themselves at the head of their industry. This will require a commitment to software development, but considering the digital focus of the auto industry today, it's a sensible move.
In addition to determining the proper amount of functionality to add to any connected car system, designers must choose how much of that experience is static and how much is flexible. Letting drivers change settings and rearrange controls is a valuable priority, one that fits in with the principles of human-centered design.
Accessibility is a key consideration here. An inflexible design will be unable to provide adequate service for drivers who need specific types of support. For example, a screen experience that relies on drivers differentiating between different-colored menu options quickly won't be suitable for users with specific optic conditions.
Customizable and flexible app experiences are therefore necessary in some cases and helpful in others. When drivers can shape the way they interact with their cars and related digital services, those technologies will stand out from the competition. This is an especially important point because auto manufacturers have to differentiate themselves from a wide variety of options.
One potentially overlooked concept for auto experience design teams working for carmakers to consider is that they aren't just competing with other auto brands. Consumers who don't like a default connected car experience may opt to use a third-party application instead.
Deloitte research notes that when attempting to design applications that have real stickiness for users, car manufacturers have to look beyond their own industry. Designers from outside the auto sector can create apps that compete directly with cars' in-vehicle experiences. These third-party apps can offer different interactive elements and interfaces that provide a contrast with the carmaker's standard digital environment. This may place even greater pressure on auto manufacturers to produce human-centered applications.
Smartcar put this in context, and the stats are alarming for automakers: Nearly three-fourths of drivers (74%) are not satisfied with some aspect of their current connected car services. Carmakers and third-party app developers alike can see this data point as a sign that they have the opportunity to win users over with more deliberate design choices in their applications.
How does it all come together for designers relying on human-centered principles to deliver connected car applications? Some useful approaches include:
The wide-open market for connected car apps is only becoming more important as technology becomes a central part of the driving experience. A generation of electric cars and vehicles with ingrained driver-assistance features is further elevating the role of software. Effective design is now a core value for companies in the automotive sector.
Putting human-centric design principles to work on a connected car project becomes easier when experts are available to provide support. Transcenda's experienced design professionals can provide any level of support your team needs, whether through occasional consultation or hands-on side-by-side design work.
Our professionals have proven themselves by solving design challenges across industries with human-centered thinking. These example cases include work on vehicle technology projects, such as a massive effort for BNSF Logistics.
Today, competition in the automotive world involves software experiences alongside more conventional vehicle design principles. With the right assistance, however, your brand can keep up with the state of the art — and even get ahead.
Contact Transcenda to learn how we can help your connected car project excel.
