Automotive UX: Looking into driver-vehicle UIs and more

In the early days, vehicles featured basic analog gauges for speed, fuel, and engine temperature. But it’s no longer just about driving. The evolution of automotive UX has dramatically reshaped how drivers and passengers interact with their vehicles.

Modern automotive UX focuses on enhancing usability, safety, and personalization through intuitive interfaces. This shift is part of a broader user-centric trend in the automotive industry.

Well, in this blog, I’ll explore the newest and oldest things to know about automotive UX, the role of UI/UX in the driving experience, and everything else related to car user interface design.

Timeline: Traditional vs. modern automotive UIs

• 1980s — Introduction of the first digital displays in vehicles. The 1986 Buick Riviera featured a touchscreen interface, paving the way for more interactive designs
• 1990s — The integration of CD players and early navigation systems marked the beginning of in-car entertainment. The 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo was the first to integrate GPS for navigation. Additionally, the 1990s saw the introduction of GPS and antilock braking systems, initiating the first wave of smart technologies in vehicles
• 2000s — Touchscreens replaced physical buttons, creating more intuitive interactions and improving the digital interface
• 2010s — Infotainment and driver-assistance systems advanced further. Smartphone integration began with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto launching in 2015, enabling seamless connectivity between smartphones and vehicle interfaces
• 2020s to present —The focus has shifted to making vehicles more intuitive and interconnected, with features like advanced voice control, enhanced touchscreens, and seamless smartphone compatibility. Companies like Tesla have revolutionized the automotive experience, integrating self-driving features and cohesive digital ecosystems to improve user experience and safety

Category	Traditional automotive UIs	Modern automotive UIs
Technology	Analog systems with gauges and knobs for basic information (speed, fuel, temperature)	Digital systems with high-resolution touchscreens, voice recognition, and driver assistance systems
Functionality	Limited to essential information, simple and straightforward	Complex functionalities, including real-time navigation, GPS, entertainment, and vehicle diagnostics
UX	Basic and minimal user interaction	Cohesive, intuitive, and interactive user experience with advanced features
Impact of smartphones	N/A	Smartphones set expectations for simplicity, functionality, and connectivity, including navigation and entertainment
Intuitive design	Limited to essential features	Designed to mirror smartphones with easy access to frequently used features
Connectivity	No integration with personal devices	Seamless sync of music, navigation, and communications across devices for an enhanced driving experience
Voice control	Manual controls for all functions	Increased reliance on voice commands for hands-free operation, improving safety and reducing distractions

Why does UX matter in modern vehicles?

Good UX design in vehicles is more than just a nice-to-have — it’s essential. Here’s why.

During a talk, Paul Woods, award-winning designer and CEO of Edenspiekermann, recently shared some valuable insights into the evolution of automotive user experience (UX) design. I’ll quote him directly, and I’ll do that often in this blog:

Design is needed more than ever. You’re not just designing buttons inside cars. You’re designing cities, mobility, and the future of transportation itself.

For UX designers, this creates an ideal environment to influence the direction of tech in cars — and even urban design at large.

Modern interfaces are no longer confined to physical controls. With touchscreens, voice recognition, and even gesture-based interactions, designers are tasked with creating seamless, intuitive experiences that prioritize both driver convenience and safety.

So, a well-designed automotive UX enhances driver satisfaction and overall safety. A well-designed experience improves safety, reduces distractions, and ultimately strengthens brand perception. Whether it’s the feel of the steering wheel, the sound of the engine, or the smoothness of the infotainment system, every detail should align with the brand’s identity to reinforce the desired emotional response.

When integrating multiple functions — like navigation, entertainment, and communication — automotive UX designers face the challenge of maintaining clarity and simplicity.

And it’s super tricky to integrate all those functions while keeping the UI intuitive.

Keeping validation > assumptions in automotive UX

In his talk, Woods highlighted a case study where assumptions about technology led to a suboptimal solution.

Working with Dutch Railways, Woods’ team was tasked with improving efficiency on train platforms. The original idea was to create an app to help passengers identify the least crowded train cars.

However, after prototyping and user testing, they found that a simple LED sign system — displaying green for empty and red for crowded cars — was far more effective.

The lesson?

“Get stuff in front of users quickly, validate your assumptions, and make decisions based on their feedback,” says Woods.

This philosophy also extends to setting a clear “North Star” for design projects.

Woods notes that understanding your brand’s core values and goals is essential to creating meaningful user experiences. Whether working on a project for luxury automaker Mercedes or the adventurous brand Rivian, defining the key user needs and ensuring the features align with the brand’s vision is critical.

Four aspects of automotive UX

Safety

An automotive UX designer will need to prioritize features that reduce distraction and enhance situational awareness so the driver can focus on the road. Designers must balance functionality with safety through thoughtful strategies:

• Digital minimization — Provide timely information while reducing cognitive load using context-aware interfaces that display only what’s relevant at the moment
• Information hierarchy — Cars come with limited screen space on their dashboards. So, prioritize critical safety details with clear visibility, using color coding and varied sizes to highlight importance. Entertainment and navigation elements should remain subtle yet accessible, especially during complex driving conditions
• Emergency response — Design intuitive interfaces with one-touch emergency contact support, collision detection, and immediate visual and audio hazard warnings
• Human-centered safety — Embrace a user-first approach by understanding human behavior, limitations, and needs. Empathy-driven design, continuous research, and rigorous testing across diverse scenarios ensure safety remains paramount

Usability

A good car user interface design would ensure intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces that require minimal cognitive load.

And now, automotive UX design is about more than just the in-car experience. It’s about considering the user’s entire journey, from the moment they decide to purchase a car to the time they’re driving it. Designers need to think about everything that happens in between, including how users interact with their vehicles outside of driving, such as through mobile apps, GPS integration, and the connection to smart homes or cities.

By applying user-centered design principles and research, designers can create systems that enhance the driving experience. Key strategies include:

• User testing — Observing drivers in real-world conditions helps identify usability issues and validate design decisions, ensuring systems work well under typical distractions
• Journey mapping — Visualizing a driver’s interaction with the vehicle highlights pain points, allowing designers to improve touchpoints throughout the journey
• Surveys and interviews — Collecting driver feedback on preferences and challenges guides feature prioritization
• Contextual inquiry — Observing drivers in their natural environment uncovers implicit needs, helping designers optimize interfaces for real-world scenarios

Personalization

Car UI should ideally allow drivers to customize the UX to their liking. To create accessible and personalized automotive experiences, designers must prioritize inclusivity and adaptability. Key considerations include:

• Inclusive design principles — Design interfaces that are easy to navigate and read, ensuring accessibility without requiring additional adaptations
• User testing with diverse populations — Testing with users of varying accessibility needs helps identify barriers and gain insights into different interactions
• Adaptable interfaces — Allowing customization, such as adjusting font size or color contrast, enhances accessibility for users with specific needs
• Voice commands — Integrating voice controls improves accessibility for users who struggle with touchscreens or physical controls, offering natural language processing and accurate feedback

Accessibility is essential not only for regulatory compliance but also for creating a user-friendly, inclusive driving experience for all. Prioritizing thoughtful design and user research ensures safety and satisfaction across diverse drivers and passengers.

Connectivity

Automotive UX is now, more than ever before, about integrating vehicles with smartphones and other devices for a cohesive UX. Key strategies include smartphone mirroring, data synchronization, real-time updates, and unified authentication.

The goal is to make the car an extension of the user’s digital life, enabling features like remote vehicle monitoring, seamless navigation transfer from phone to vehicle, and contextual notifications, enhancing convenience and personalization for drivers.

Designing automotive UX for the future

Automotive UX comprises various elements that come together to enhance the interaction between drivers and vehicles. The goal is to create a safe, intuitive, and enjoyable experience — all while incorporating features like driver assistance displays, control layouts, ergonomics, voice commands, and infotainment systems.

Here’s how you can approach and optimize these components:

Driver assistance displays

Driver assistance systems are crucial for safety. They help drivers make informed decisions while on the road. They provide real-time information on vehicle performance and operational status. Keep in mind:

• Prioritize critical information — When designing a heads-up display (HUD), focus on minimalism. Display only the most crucial data like speed, navigation, and hazard warnings to reduce cognitive overload. And test designs using the Doherty Threshold, ensuring that tasks requiring cognitive effort align with acceptable levels of driver workload
• Test with real-world distractions — During user testing, simulate real-world conditions (e.g., heavy traffic, roadwork) to see how drivers interact with real-time data
• Safety alerts — Warn drivers of potential mistakes or hazards like collision risks, lane change assist, and other situational awareness features using intuitive color schemes to indicate urgency

Control layouts and ergonomics

The layout and ergonomics of vehicle controls are essential for ease of use, comfort, and safety. These factors directly impact the driving experience and include:

• User-centric control placement — Controls like the steering wheel, audio, and navigation should be intuitively placed so drivers can reach them easily without distractions. You could use heatmaps from usability testing to identify where users instinctively touch or press most often — think of using Fitt’s law here
• Consistent patterns and design standards — For example, if you use swipe gestures to control one feature, do the same across other controls to reduce cognitive load

Voice command integration

Voice commands are becoming increasingly integrated into automotive UX. Drivers can now interact with their vehicles without taking their hands off the steering wheel or road. Best practices would be to:

• Simplify the command structure — Avoid forcing drivers to memorize specific commands; instead, allow for flexibility in how they interact with the vehicle. Plus, you could include fallback mechanisms. If the system doesn’t understand a command, add in easy-to-understand prompts, e.g., “Sorry, I didn’t get that. Could you please repeat?”
• Contextual relevance — Make sure voice commands adapt based on context. For example, if the system detects heavy traffic, it could offer alternate routes or suggest a lower volume for music

Infotainment systems

Infotainment systems have become central to the modern automotive UX, combining entertainment, navigation, and communication in one interface. Key elements include:

• Intuitive navigation — Infotainment systems should be intuitive, with a simple and consistent layout. Minimize the number of steps needed to perform a task, like changing music or accessing navigation. Use large, tappable buttons for ease of interaction
• Connectivity — Smartphone integration (e.g., Apple CarPlay, Android Auto) should be smooth and error-free. Provide an on-screen guide for users who might not be tech-savvy, explaining how to sync their devices and access their apps
• Test for multitasking — Drivers often multitask between navigation, music, and calls. Test infotainment systems for how well they handle these simultaneous tasks. You need to ensure switching between these functions doesn’t break the flow of the user experience

Conclusion

Woods shared his thoughts on the future of in-car technology. He predicted that the car’s interior could transform into a “living room on wheels,” with advanced personalization options.

As vehicles become more autonomous, users will expect seamless connectivity, customizations that make the driving environment more comfortable, and even AI-powered systems that learn the user’s preferences. He also mentioned that integrating augmented reality (AR) might change how drivers receive navigational information, making it more interactive and engaging.

The future of UX, particularly in industries like automotive, is clearly exciting. And the potential for designers to shape these changes is enormous!