The following project took place within a collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and the UX Department of Porsche.
We worked for one week together with UX Designers from Porsche and their own software tool to create new features for a prototype.
Research
Together with my partner, Benjamin Kaczynski, we wanted to develop a feature which delivers a more intense use of acoustics and light during a ride. To understand how these are used to calm down or to motivate people we went to a yoga studio and a gym to take interviews about the usage. The results of them were that light and music are used constantly and with very different intentions. The yoga studio for example used light dimming, red tones and decent, natural music to calm people down.
Concept
For our first prototype we build a simulated driver seat with tablets brought by the Porsche Team and cardboard material. This should bring us a first feeling how our idea could be improved and work out in a more realistic environment.
To adjust the intensity we created a simple slider which can be used in the car or on the smartphone. The driver can choose between an active or a more calming ambience. After the ride the app would ask if anything can be done better and if yes how.
Realization and Story
After some paper prototyping we created the “Focus Mode”, an AI supported feature which adjust the light and music for the driver. Aside from this, the new feature should also help to focus more on driving by blocking every input like messages, social media updates and news. The feature can be also activated even before entering the car through the smartphone or a smartwatch.
To present our idea within an understandable scenario, we created an own story with a fictional persona. This persona is working for a big company and has more than just one stressful day during the week. In our story the persona gets such a high stress level that his or her smartwatch sends an alert and asks if the Focus Mode should be activated before driving back to home.
After the ride the app will ask how the experience was and if something could be done better. If the persona would like to change something he/she would see a new screen with a grid and a dot in the middle. Here could the persona give feedback in which direction the music should go next time.
Like already told, the Focus Mode can be also activated and adjusted in the car at the center screen. It was substantial for us that the driver is not distracted by unnecessary informations or buttons, just like in the app. In the center is the album cover shown, under the cover the slider and on the left side two buttons. The plane has the same function as the air mode in smartphones, all incoming messages are blocked till the function deactivated. The dumbbell was at the end of the course a new idea to show the driver simple exercise while waiting in a traffic jam.
SCOPES driven by Porsche
We and four other groups had the luck to get an invitation to the Scopes 2018 event where we presented our projects together with the UX Team and their Lead Designer, Gana Meissner. To get a more realistic environment than during our course, we got the possibility to use a new and more detailed prototype.
