Electric Field.
01
05/
Concept EQ
Mercedes-Benz
Creative Lead
Visual System
UX Design
Maps Design
Moving into the future, Mercedes-Benz needed to focus on electric mobility. What a better way to launch a new line of cars than at the Paris Motor Show. EQ is the latest in the Mercedes-Benz line-up, focusing on progressive luxury targeting a younger demographic of 30-45. Our task was to conceive new ways of using maps in the car.
Surfacing information when and where you need it, and being able to push information to your mobile device. I was also developing a new visual language that would be suitable for the new brand.
Our Problem
Previous map functionality on Mercedes-Benz cars had a high bounce rate. Users were frustrated with manually tapping in destinations, finding POI's, or lengthy routes. Our users also wanted some context of their positioning on the map.
This left the infotainment screens underutilized as users opted for their mobile devices. We needed to increase in-car map usage within our system.
Our Solution
After Mercedes acquired HERE maps, we had access to real-time map information, which allowed us to design a much more robust product for the user.
Addressing the input issues, we designed a multi-modal system featuring a voice command, touchscreen, and a trackpad. To give the user some contextual awareness of their location, we work with HERE's map tooling and machine learning to create surface information density.
I myself navigate by landmarks, so I thought we could add a human aspect by highlighting or calling out certain landmarks as reference points for the user.
We wanted to reduce the cognitive load of having 3D buildings everywhere, so we designed it in a manner where only certain landmarks would pop-up around the car. This gave the user enough context of where they were situated on the map.
We continued with last-mile scenarios – where users would park and then have to walk the remaining distance to their destination. We created a feature that will push the remaining walking directions to the user's connected watch or mobile device.
Initial Design Mood Board
Round 1 Explorations using Nokia HERE tooling
Round 2 Explorations using Nokia HERE tooling
Trending Locations
Traffic: Past - Present - Future
Air Quality Monitoring
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Our Impact
Although this was originally designed and built as a concept vehicle, it was a platform for us to test and try new things on. After an amazing response from the Paris Autoshow, we decided to push this idea further.
Upon our return, we built a new usable prototype map that was tested with a 33% increase in usability over our previous maps.
We handed that concept off to our colleagues in Germany for further development and testing. The results proved to be successful and will make its way in the production models.
