Product design for NIO drivers to better plan their days, where the in-car AI assistant would be able to memorize and recommend possible short detours the driver can make to do something else while commuting.
Michael Li, Yingying Song, Burn Zhang
7 Weeks
Designer, Researcher
Figma
I worked on this project for my internship at NIO. During this internship, one of the main focuses of the team was with the development of assistive driving, drivers will have more attention span to preform more complicated interactions while driving. Thus begins the trend of integrating in-vehicle service into the car that will work better than simply using a phone.
There were two main focused areas of the project
During my internship, NIO was scheduling their release of integrating "mini programs" into their in-car systems, giving opportunities to more convinient services that connect NIO's vehicles to the metropolitan life.
Some current envisioned scenarios include these:
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This project services as an exploratory project to design new opportunites with the many different capabilities these "mini programs" bring
The Problem
Throughout the exploratory process, I've identified a key issue: NIO drivers often struggle to balance their busy schedules, feel frustrated with the repetitive routines of their demanding professional lives, and crave more opportunities for leisure and relaxation outside of work.
The Solution
The solution is an AI powered itinerary recommendation product built into the NIO vehicle system that:
a) Allow the driver to record interesting places and keeps a record of favorite places,
b) Recommend simple tasks based on the driver's current contextual information and the driver's set of favorite places that the driver could take while heading to a specific destination
c) Schedule specific reminders to visit locations of interests
Starting out with such a broad statement, I would need to understand what I am designing and who I’m designing for. I looked into 3 main areas, competitiors, the market in general, and specific users.
I first looked into the general EV market, and what experts in the field are predicting what the future trends in the EV market would be, and these include the following:
I looked into specific electric-vehicle (brands in both inside China) and what features they are introducing into their newest models. I was abe to locate the following trends:
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Insight 1:
NIO users find it hard to balance their professional demands with leisure activities
Insight 2:
Users want to visit many places in their city, but don't have to time to schedule visits
Insight 3:
Users hopes that the vehicle would have capabilities enhancing their time management capabilities
As aforementioned, one of the main goals of the project is to create a product that would create a better experience than simply using a phone, which means the design would have to integrate these features that currently exists in NIO’s vehicles.
Able to perform complex calculations
Remember driver data and personalize experience
Understand driver’s basic schedule through location
Allow location context aware abilities
Guiding drivers to important locations
Allow drivers to divert some of their attention to other tasks
Understand the context within and outside the vehicle
Computer vision, sound sensors
With these insights from our research, we brainstormed a range of potential product ideas that could genuinely improve users' day-to-day experiences. A big goal of this project is to create something that feels like an upgrade from just using a phone—something more immersive and intuitive. To achieve this, we focused on building a design that seamlessly integrates the unique features already available in NIO vehicles.
There I ideated multiple possible scenarios that a driver would demand some sort of service to improve their driving experience, these include:
screen shots of ideated scenarios in the document
After the general exploration, the scnearios are classified into 7 general user needs.
These categories are not just used for this project aline, but would be a guide/inspiration for future service related projects
Further, we created 3 main strategies that we want to follow both based on the researched insights and the general guidelines of NIO’s brand guidelines.
images from meeting white board discussions
These strategic guidelines would also be informing other service related projects at NIO
From the insights from the user and the general user needs we explored, I’ve mainly wanted to explore the concept of accomplishing task during daily commutes.
Some of the main scenarios I’ve explored were
The Missed Chance
Visual: Two people drive past a vibrant restaurant. User A says, "That place looks great! Let’s come back later."
Problem: They notice the restaurant but don’t save it for later.
Forgotten on the Way Home
Visual: On their way back, they’re distracted and forget about the restaurant.
Problem: Without a reminder, the opportunity slips away.
Regret Days Later
Visual: User A tries to remember the restaurant but can’t recall its name or location.
Problem: Frustration sets in as they realize they can’t find it again.
The Missed Chance
Visual: A person at their desk, staring at the clock, drained from the day.
Problem: Too tired to plan their evening, they want to relax but can’t decide what to do.
Getting in Car - Indecision
Visual: They sit in the car, staring at their phone, unsure of what to do next
Problem: They can’t decide on plans and feel stuck in indecision.
Missing Out on Relaxation
Visual: They drive past coffee shops and parks but keep going, too tired to stop.
Problem: They miss chances to unwind and feel frustrated for not acting.
User Journey trying to outline the design opportunites in each stage of the user going through the experience
From creating the user journey, I’ve identified several touchpoints for potential designs, including
screenshots of multiple iterations before the final
After going through multiple iterations, I have a better understanding of the main framework of the final design, getting a better understand of the 3 main sections required for the design.
**at first I wanted to include a section that allow the user to rate the establishment, however after multiple explorations it seems more like a task to be done on a mobile device rather than a car interface.
The final design concept is an in-vehicle “along-the-way" itinerary recommendation, where the in-car AI assistant would be able to memorize and recommend possible short detours the driver can make to do something else while on their way commuting.
The final design consists of three main sections:
When creating the final design, I ensure any design decisions are judged by the following design strategies to ensure the optimal experience for the drivers.
Use visuals to highlight the most important elements, and use the voice agent to provide further detail if necessary
Use visuals to highlight the most important elements, and use the voice agent to provide further detail if necessary
Focus the design on Tasks the driver want to accomplish and not by specific location names
The design and interactions depends on the driver’s current location and timing
Exploration & Scheduling
Drivers are able to quickly ask for information about a place through the voice agent, and schedule future visits while driving, so the vehicle would be able to plan something for the future
That bakery with the red door looks so cute! What do they sell inside?
Are you talking about MATCH bakery & Co? They mainly sell various matcha products, including cakes, bread, and drinks!
Other user highly recommends their succulent matcha mille crepe.
Reminders
After planning a future trip, the vehicle would remind the user at appropriate scenarios
You previously mentioned wanting to check out Matcha & Co to buy breakfast for tomorrow morning. Do you still want to go?
Recommendations
Using the driver’s collection of favorite and most frequently visited spots to create recommendations for interim stops that allow the user to quickly finish tasks like buying tomorrow’s breakfast, coffee, and other small tasks.
Is there anything I can do right now?
Let me see. On your way home, you could buy breakfast for tomorrow, get dog food for your dog, go to the gym for a workout, or relax at the park.
Buy breakfast
Got it! Do you want to buy breakfast at the MATCHA bakery you saw this morning, or the Yuan Ji Bun Shop near your house?
The one next to my place
Got it! Heading to <YuanJi Bun Shop> about 2 minutes from your destination. The drive would take approximately 10 minutes.
Familiarity with Vehicle-Specific User Behaviors and Scenarios:
Before this projects, I was mainly familiar with user scenarios related to mobile/PC devices. It was hard to extract myself from preconceptions built from past experience designing for mobile screens, and become familiar with vehicle interfaces
Formation of the Big Idea/Main Concept:
I went through a long phase of confusion with the project at the start, where it was hard to navigate through such a large project and understand my own subset. Eventually, I was able to extract the main idea of the project and was able to push forwards
Understanding Experience Definition:
During the design phase, one of the biggest challenges was to understand what make a design “good.” This led to me returning back to the drawing board multiple times, until I was finalized with the several design strategies that helps me identify which parts of the design is “good” for the project and while other details need more refinement.
Familiarize with Multi-Modal Interactions:
When designing the prototype itself in Figma, I had to become more familiar with the different types of interaction the vehicle affords, and how to represent these different types of interactions (touch/voice) in the prototype to better communicating my design.