GM Digital Instrument cluster
Lead Interaction Designer - General Motors 2011 - 2012
Objective
Design one piece of software that can satisfy the needs of every vehicle, hardware configuration, region and language on a small, black-and-white display that will be viewed while driving from a distance of 2 feet while staying within National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) guidelines and GM's strict best practices for standardization and safety on a platform that is heavily constrained by memory.
Multiple Vehicles
The A-series DIC represents GM's entry-level instrument panel interface, and thus spans more vehicles than any other interface. This meant content would vary between vehicle types (sedans, trucks, vans, electric cars, fleet vehicles, etc.) but the information architecture needed to be defined in a way that satisfied all content scenarios.
Multiple Regions
Because GM ships vehicles all over the world, the interface needed to adapt to dozens of regions and languages. Considering how navigation, iconography, and text vary across cultures, there was a strong inclination towards designing multiple versions of each page. However, multiplying the number of pages several times over caused increased overhead, and more importantly, exceeded the limits of our fleeting automotive-grade memory.
Outcome
After a year of sketching, wireframing, testing, and negotiating with visual designers, program managers and engineers, the A-series DIC family coalesced and was put in to production. The first vehicles to utilize this interface were the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon. Several more vehicles will be deploying over the next few years in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Ultimately, this will become the highest-volume interface that GM ships.
