Problem

Many drivers have little understanding of what to do in the scenario of having low tire pressure. This can lead to drivers being confused and frustrated when they eventually end up in that situation. There are also safety concerns for the driver if they do not know what to do, or if they ignore the low tire pressure warning. By making the alerts clear both in the cluster and center console, the driver's awareness can increase. Also providing enough information and steps for the driver to take in the situation is important so that they know what their options are for fixing the pressure and staying safe.

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The solution was prompted by these two questions:

1. "How do I get the user’s attention when their tire pressure is low?"
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2. "How can I provide them solutions so that they can fix the problem while driving and/when they pull over?"
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My solution includes a mix of design changes often seen in car systems to help the driver navigate low tire pressure within the settings app, homepage, and instrument cluster. I reviewed many cars and noted designs they have in common to keep the design familiar to the user, yet improved.

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picture of homepage screen design solution

image of traced car and reference side by side

the car model used in my designs was
actually drawn by me using the pen tool in figma!
this took some time to get down...

To go along with the in-car experience, I added a way for drivers to stay updated through a mobile app.

According to NHTSA and the U.S. Department of Energy...

- "Nearly 200,000 accidents caused by tire-related issues (annually)"
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- "33,000 injuries due to under-inflated tires (annually)"
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- "3.5 million gallons of gasoline wasted due to under-inflated tires (daily)"

These are a few of the things I gathered from reading articles and guidelines on driver safety and road conditions related to low tire pressure. From this I could tell that something could be improved within the car to reduce these numbers and improve driver safety.

User Research

To understand the pain points, behavior of drivers, and the basis they have for their driving systems, I interviewed 5 people and asked them about their personal experiences with driving.
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Key Insights...

picture of key findings from user research

Using these findings, I want to incorporate components within my design that are inclusive of inexperienced or less confident drivers to aid them and improve their safety on the road.

Design Improvements

1. Instead of just a symbol on the instrument cluster, I added more understandable warnings
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2. I added a notification center to the home page instead of just having it in the instrument cluster
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3. I initially used a lighter interface, however after some user testing realized drivers prefer a dark interface as it’s easier to look at and it is familiar to them in their own cars.

What I'd do differently...

If I had more time I would make a lot more messy "drafts" of my designs before doing anything with Figma! I felt tied to a design I created because of the time and effort I put into it, and believe that it can be limiting.
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If I was to continue with this project, I would also focus on a specific car segment (truck, SUV, sports car) since each car has different purposes and its own unique traits that require special designs/features.

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bonus design! (car climate controls)

feel to email me at zghandou@umich.edu for any questions or to chat! ✨

‍Thanks so much for reading!Scroll To The Top :)