All In The Details

Addressing smaller details to elevate the whole experience

This trend is about designing for optimisation, creating a whole new experience that is more equitable and inclusive. Looking at the elements likely considered as less important and flipping it on its head, is the approach adopted here. Driven by a demand for a more inclusive approach to design, innovators in the mobility space are looking at how the finer details of their products or services can be designed to elevate the whole experience for all.

In many cases innovation concentrates on the overhaul or invention of a new product. What if you looked at the smaller details with a fresh perspective, what value can you add to those interactions?

© James Lee

MICRO TREND

© Yuri Suzuki x Pentagram

“Having variable sounds within a car allows the user to have a more positive driving experience, too, allowing for each journey to feel important and for the bond between vehicle and user to develop over time.”

Yuri Suzuki, Partner, Experience and Sound Designer, Pentagram

CASE STUDY Supportive Sound

China is leading in the manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles. Total EV sales in the country were 1.3 million in 202072, an increase of 8% compared to 2019 and 41% of all EVs sold worldwide. China has also set a target to transition to fully electric or hybrid cars by 203573, an effort reflected in the $60 Billion invested74 into EV’s thus far by the government. This rate of adoption coupled with China’s rapidly ageing population will make the region a hotbed for longevity led innovations in electric vehicles.

One significant difference between EV’s and traditional combustion engine vehicles is that the former is much quieter. In the early development of consumer electric vehicles, the absence of sound made pedestrian safety a top concern. Charities such as Guide Dogs highlighted that pedestrians are 40% more likely75 to be hit by a hybrid or electric car than by one with a petrol or diesel engine in the UK. As a result, countries including China have introduced laws76 requiring EV’s to produce a sound as a safety feature.

For this reason, car manufacturers such as BMW have recruited the services of sound designers and composers such as Hans Zimmer77 to create unique audio profiles for their vehicles. However, looking beyond safety, innovators are now exploring how composed vehicle sounds can elevate the driving experience further.

Yuri Suzuki, a partner at global design consultancy Pentagram, has developed a family of sounds for electric vehicles78 - to heighten safety and practicality.

As part of the research project, Suzuki created two new artificial engine hums that change pitch depending on the vehicle’s speed. The first is a skeuomorphic design engine with similar sound properties to a conventional engine. Second is a multi sine wave engine maximised for safety and sound recognition, designed with frequencies higher than a traditional engine, allowing for clear hearing. Each engine sound incorporates a variety of frequencies to ensure that it remains audible to those affected by hearing loss across one of these frequency ranges.

Suzuki also produced a range of in-car sounds for everything from indicating to starting the ignition. These sounds are adaptive and change based on the location, time and activity, generating an immersive and adaptive experience that the designer says can help create a sense of routine, structure and adaptiveness for the user.

As sound design in electric vehicles becomes ever more ubiquitous, there is an opportunity to design these systems with features that support older adults.

CASE STUDY ŠKODA lights the way

Czech automobile firm, ŠKODA (which operates in China), has patented an illuminating seat belt buckle79 which makes finding and engaging a car belt buckle easier.

The new ŠKODA ‘Smart Buckles’ feature a clear transparent button replacing the traditional red eject button. The buckle features a pair of multicolour RGB LEDs that allows for the following scenarios; with nobody in the seat, the LEDs glow white to show the passenger the location of the buckle at night. When a passenger sits in the seat, a weight sensor in the seat base recognises the presence of a person and the LED changes to red - indicating that the occupant should put their seat belt on.

A pattern on the clear plastic button spreads the light to make the whole button glow. The buckles can also be programmed to have an animated welcome sequence to make them more noticeable in dark environments.

Adapting these standard pieces of safety equipment, ŠKODA, have elevated the experience for everyone, but especially those who may have visual impairments.

© ŠKODA

CASE STUDY Style and Substance

The design of older adult-focused mobility solutions has traditionally favoured an aesthetic reflective of medical devices. While these products may work perfectly fine, a reluctance to adopt them has been linked to the stigma experienced80 while using these unappealing designs

Japanese mobility company, GLM, has tried to address this barrier with their electric scooter concept81. Focusing on “aesthetic issues” as one of the barriers to promoting the shift from passenger cars to alternative mobility solutions, the company looked to design a mobility scooter that embodies a more contemporary aesthetic.

Ryuhei Ishimaru sculptured the design to give the vehicle the appearance that it has been carved from a sold sphere to create a softer and approachable form. Using this approach, GLM and Ishimaru have created a vehicle with a design aesthetic more reflective of a luxury car than a medical device.

While this design is just one of many possible approaches, GLM has demonstrated that older adult-focused mobility solutions can hold the same aesthetic standards that younger audiences enjoy.