Following a proof-of-concept vehicle, the Lightyear 2 intended to become a mass-produced model, more affordable, reliable, and for a larger, international user base.

Starting nearly from scratch, the Experience team's task is to deliver an intuitive, useful and market leading user experience. To that end, with the focus on the Human Machine Interactions (HMI), we set out to design the experience across multiple touchpoints. We worked to imagine what the market expects from new vehicles in a few years time, with a challenging cost target. A truly unique and interesting challenge. My contributions included conceptual design, research, defining product/experience requirements, brainstorming workshops, scoping, interaction and experience design, wireframing, prototyping and user testing.

Ideas ranged from tactile steering wheel controls to autonomous features and social integration. We benchmarked competing brands to guide feature selection, user flows, and experience requirements like timing and information hierarchy.

To meet cost targets, we evaluated three HMI architecture options: off-the-shelf, projection-based (e.g. CarPlay), and custom-built. Each choice impacts design intent, power consumption, CPU size, and flexibility, so understanding core user needs was essential for adaptable solutions.

To explore user preferences, we tested with German and Italian drivers using lo-fi tools: laminated interface stickers placed on a 2D dashboard. This revealed clear insights into preferred interaction types and where digital solutions made sense.

Taking into account the test results, we set out to create layouts of the interfaces and touch points we expect to have in the vehicle. There are a few key elements that play a role this: the user-wants, usability, brand perception and the cost with this last one being two-fold: firstly, digital interfaces are generally cheaper and leaner than physical ones and secondly, the cost and count of each element per unit quickly adds up.