This project began with a look into the future of automotive hardware. The dashboard is changing. More and more examples are cropping up in cars today of digital displays being incorporated into the dashboard space. Most of them are incorporated with the subtlety of an axe, simply dropping a rectangular LCD into a space where it does not feel at home.

Our goal was to look a few years into the future to the eventuality of the completely digital dashboard. How would the dashboard adapt to this new hardware? how would it retain its identity as an information space? How would the attention of the driver be kept on the road? It was with these questions in mind that we began our research.

We began our research by familiarizing ourselves with the current landscape of dashboard design. Being capable designers and licensed drivers, we all had good notion of how dashboards were set up. Visiting about a dozen dealerships gave us a good understanding of the current display trends, as well as a taste of the varying levels of customer service from different brands.

Our research led to ideation and development over the next few weeks. Our team spent many sleepless days asking questions, answering questions, realizing we were question a coffee pot, sketching, debating, drawing on whiteboards and taking epic lunch breaks. In addition to our two dimensional process, we also built a mockup of a generic dashboard into which we incorporated an LCD for the display and testing of our designs.

Physicality

The first idea we landed on was a retention of physicality. The main problem with current fully digital concept displays is that they completely eschew anything physical. There are usually things flying all over the place with the seemingly sole purpose of distracting the driver. We incorporated grounding elements, like a physical ring around the speedometer and mechanical needle.

We also proposed that the display itself be built with a transparent OLED display, allowing for area behind the display itself. This allows for the dash to be more than just a flat panel, giving the space a dimensionality that it wouldn't otherwise have. The anterior space also allows for ambient information to be relayed on a tertiary level, below that of the main display. For example, a turn signal could result in a soft pulsing glow on the left hand side from a hidden LED.

Noise Reduction

Another principle we agreed on was the reduction of visual noise. While arguably the greatest advantage of a fully digital display is that it can be reconfigured on the fly, if that re-configurability goes unchecked it can become distracting and disorienting. We agreed that certain elements of the display should remain constant. The speedometer, for instance, is an area where consistency was paramount. A glance at the dashboard that lasts more than 200 milliseconds begins to be dangerous, so being sure that when you look down, you know what you're going to see is very important. This ties in, of course, with the consistency of having a physical needle.

Dynamic Visual Hierarchy

Our broadest idea was that of Dynamic Visual Hierarchy. The very essence of having this digital display is so that elements can be changed on the fly. The best way to take advantage of that is by manipulating the level at which information sits when its importance changes. One way to do this is by through the use of color as an indication of importance. When the indicator on the gas gauge hovers around full, it remains green, implying a state of desirability. As the fuel levels begin to fall, the indicator fades, through yellow, into red, garnering more of the attention of the driver.

Eye-Tracking User Tests

The last part of the work we did was the preparation of our work for continuing study using an eye-tracking device. In addition to the in-depth design proposals we made, we also created several dozen minute variations of each design. This allows us to have some manner of a control while exposing users to different visual factors. People will be exposed to layouts while in a simulated driving environment. Their eye movements and gazes will then be recorded and analyzed. The work is a collaboration between the Human Computer Interaction Institute and Noam Tractinsky, a design researcher and statistician at Ben Gurion University in Tel Aviv.