A mechanical vehicle is an exceptionally technically complex machine. Its intricate structure, technological advancements, and transportation capabilities over time have allowed humans to travel longer distances in a faster, safer, more comfortable, and convenient manner. To achieve this comfort, car manufacturers as early as the 20th century, from the United States - General Motors and Ford; across the Old Continent - Italian Fiat, French Renault and Peugeot, Scandinavian Volvo, or German Daimler; and ending in Asia - Toyota, Honda, or Nissan, began implementing solutions aimed at - using colloquial terms - making the driver's and passengers' journey more enjoyable. Thus, the first car radios appeared in vehicle interiors. Later, with the development of automotive computer technology, paper maps were replaced by GPS navigation systems. The aforementioned computers allowed drivers to access vehicle data, parameters, and even configure them according to their preferences. Wired connectivity through AUX [1] or USB standards, as well as wireless connectivity through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, gradually replaced outdated formats such as cassette tapes and CDs. All these changes, the integration of technology, information, and entertainment, resulted in the creation of a central hub within the car interior, essentially a "command center". This technological complex is commonly known as the "car infotainment system".
Fig. 1. "Ford 6000CD" radio control panel with liquid crystal display
Source: Author's photographic documentation.
Tablet-shaped Display
Initially, infotainment systems were limited to analog operation, using a compilation of buttons and knobs; on-board devices with small non-touch screens could be integrated into the dashboard structure. They did not require extensive space for displaying data because the technical advancement of on-board computers was not high enough to make it possible or necessary. Most contemporary radio control panels relied on liquid crystal display technology (Fig. 1), which, due to the nature of this solution (dimensions, letter size, screen backlight color), significantly narrowed the spectrum of possibilities for presenting larger amounts of data, and consequently – visual ways of presenting them. Thus, more advanced radios were actually just another accessory in the car interior, intended to provide a limited, specific dose of information. However, with the increasing development of available functions and the possibility of more flexible configuration, the screen size also increased.
For these reasons, car manufacturers resorted to the solution of mounting a tablet-like display, usually on top of the dashboard. Initially, they were equipped with a series of buttons (mostly for navigating to different tabs, settings, or system functions), but in most cases, only the screen remained. This was associated with designers assigning a dominant role to touchscreen operation, which replaced established solutions, often at the expense of unnecessarily increasing the driver's focus on the display. Over time, the screen size steadily increased, eventually reaching sizes previously unimaginable, and in the eyes of many automotive journalists and users – nonsensical.
The aesthetic solution in the form of an infotainment system display in the form of a "tablet" is a correct direction, considering the progress in technology and the development of the driver's surrounding environment. While the discussion about the strictly visual merits of this solution remains unresolved (as the aesthetic perception of each user opting for the aforementioned phenomenon is an individual matter), its practical side is positive. Although not without certain ergonomic flaws - at least with current technical capabilities - difficult to improve, it constitutes an essential element of progress in designing and creating car interiors and is undoubtedly a "sign of the times". It also creates room for further improvements, exploration of new possibilities, and the creation of further forms and ways of using this complex machine, which is a car.
Dashboard Instruments as a Source of Visual Communication
Since multimedia systems, in an era of strong technological development in automotive engineering, have become the center for operating all car functions, there has been a significantly increased need for the clearest and simplest conveyance of large amounts of information. This is a challenging task, especially for solutions that have not been available in machines used for transportation until now, and were reserved for the realm of multimedia devices, computers, or smartphones. The car infotainment system has become, in a sense, another incarnation of a personal device, which blurs the relationship between human-machine as car and driver and creates a closer relationship to the device-user schema. Therefore, the more complex the space for operating the car, the more complicated it will be to create an appropriate path for the above relationship to function smoothly. There are many methods in the realm of aesthetics and design approaches to achieve this result. Manufacturers resort to various solutions to transfer their individual style and design thinking to a properly functioning system. These are often methods within the scope of basic visual communication, perfectly applicable both in the aesthetics of interfaces and in the order and harmony of their design.
Color Functions
The first and obvious step towards achieving a successful and aesthetically consistent system is order. As Ulysses Voelker points out, "[...] order is an elementary component of life, rejected in acts of rebellion, needed or consciously ignored. It is so fundamental because we all seek direction in the chaos of the tangled world." This is a valid diagnosis as a general picture of the surrounding reality but also finds its place in the sphere of design, including systemic interfaces. Desirable harmony can be achieved in many ways. One of the most obvious is color coordination. Colors have special significance in terms of visual communication. Over the years, they have created their definitions, become symbols of specific emotions, actions, or functions. The divinity, calmness, and certainty of blue, the youth and hope of green, the passion and aggression of red. They have often also represented a kind of sanctity in various religions of the world - the holy green of Muslims, or the blue "Akszobhij" - the Buddhist color of perseverance and strength. In terms of the functionality of various electronic devices, humans have also become accustomed to specific solutions. Green traffic signal light indicates movement, a red glowing power tool LED indicates power status.
Fig. 2. The interior of the Ford Kuga illuminated in a characteristic turquoise color.
Source: Author's photographic documentation
Similar operating principles are used in multimedia systems. In the scope of selected functions, positive actions are marked with green, errors with shades of red. This division is the simplest, in the least complex on-board multimedia systems, gradually being replaced by icons. Several manufacturers, however, use individual color schemes, often as a distinguishing feature. The BMW brand in the "iDrive" system resorts to a combination of dark shades with the characteristic orange color. It has a long history of appearing in the manufacturer's models, from the second half of the 20th century in analog instruments, to today - in infotainment systems and virtual dashboards. A similar color was used by the Peugeot brand in models of the "06" series, "07" series, and early versions of the "08". Volkswagen and Audi, members of the same group, used red backlighting until the end of the second decade of the 2000s, while Skoda or Ford used green light. In all the mentioned cases, the goal was the same - to save the driver's eyesight and, above all, to ensure the highest readability of presented information, especially at night. Currently, there is a kind of standardization covering almost all manufacturers. With the development and increased use of LED lighting technology, a transition is made to colder colors, purer white. However, there are exceptions to this. The aforementioned BMW still uses shades of light red or orange (the user can also adjust the color and choose white), and Ford - a characteristic color recognizable for the brand resembling turquoise or aquamarine (Fig. 2). In both cases, to complement the coherence of communication in this sphere of visual communication with the driver, a given color finds its place both on the infotainment system display and the digital driver instrument, as well as in the backlighting of components and instruments in the car interior.
Fig. 3. Suzuki "Smartplay" system interface.
Source: www.suzuki-slda.com
Another example of organization and introduction of order using color is the infotainment systems used in Suzuki vehicles called "Smartplay" (Fig. 3). Although primitive in operation and significantly limited in terms of functionality compared to competitors on the market, they represent an interesting alternative and proposal for order in the interface using simple colors. Specifically, the default view, known as the "home" screen, has been divided into four rectangles - fields leading to specific system tabs, each assigned a specific outline color: - red - radio receiver control window; - blue - access window to the built-in satellite navigation; - green - window for phone call functions with a mobile device; - yellow - phone or other wireless device settings control window. The presented solution, although doubtful in terms of execution and aesthetics, certainly serves as an example of a simple way to operate multimedia and system functions of the vehicle, especially desired by less proficient users in effectively using the more advanced screens of infotainment systems from other brands.
System Icons
An essential element of visual communication in infotainment systems, but also in general, is iconography. Symbols and signs significantly improve and facilitate the operation of onboard instruments and, if properly designed, positively influence the aesthetic coherence of the interior. Icons are widely used in vehicles intended and produced for the European market. This situation is different from American production (especially North America), where automotive instruments are described using text supplemented in most cases by an additional icon (however, in the vast majority of cases, only textual description is used). This results from the legal situation and regulations concerning vehicle homologation in this country. However, this approach has significant drawbacks. The user must first read the text, then understand its content, and only then decide whether to use, turn off, or set a given function, device, or option. The flaw of such a solution is indicated by the Swiss authority in the field of visual communication, typographer, and graphic artist Adrian Frutiger, who, speaking in the context of using written instructions for various devices, said that "the verbal description itself [...] leads to convoluted instructions, and consequently, to incomprehensible ones. Therefore, every company tries to invent pictograms that would be able to explain most of the important recommendations and manipulations pictorially." [4]
Fig. 4. Mercedes-Benz 'MBUX' infotainment system featuring icons in a skeumorphism style
Source: www.netcarshow.com
Fig. 5. The infotainment system in a Polestar car is equipped with the "Google Automotive" interface.
Source: www.polestar.com
A much better solution is to use icons - simpler, clearer, faster to understand what they are supposed to represent or symbolize. Of course, this requires the user to familiarize themselves with a given set of symbols beforehand. However, in the automotive space, icons displayed on the driver instrument regarding, for example, mechanical components or those on the center console, such as air conditioning controls, have been standardized and have the same or very similar form for each manufacturer. However, those used in infotainment system interfaces vary because each brand introduces them individually. Over the years of evolution in the design of automotive multimedia, their icons have significantly changed their shapes and forms. In the 2000s, the lead in icon design in both infotainment systems and multimedia devices in general was the stylistics resembling real, physical objects, materials, and textures, the so-called "skeuomorphism." This trend was due to the prevailing trends at the time, the development of computer design techniques, and three-dimensional technology. In subsequent years, realistic imitation was gradually replaced by flat icons. Since automotive multimedia interfaces usually lag behind in terms of trends compared to computer or smartphone operating systems, currently, in most cases, the design of on-board multimedia and its aesthetics is dominated, displaced in other spheres by the return of "skeuomorphism" (Fig. 4.), flat design, outlined, limited to pure colors with possible addition of gradients or raster and devoid of shadows. This style is called "flat design" (Fig. 5.).
The use of icons in onboard multimedia has another additional aspect. Namely, as mentioned earlier, it largely replaces typography. Although textual description is still necessary and even required by regulations and common sense in certain places or situations (e.g., impossible to replace by an object or shape indication of the current speed of the car), symbolism decidedly supersedes text.
Typography
Typography in the interfaces of automotive infotainment systems is similar in functionality and style to computer and mobile interface spheres. Just like in the case of a phone or PC screen, simple, sans-serif fonts work best. Serif or two-element fonts are not used in onboard multimedia systems due to both the impaired readability in driving conditions and the prevailing modern trends in UI design. The more complex appearance and aesthetics of the text, the more uncomfortable it is to use on such a complex machine as a car. The screen on the dashboard must only serve as a handy tool for its operation, the center of access to quick configuration of functions without unnecessary engagement of the driver's attention. From this perspective, simple and readable fonts are the best solution, which manufacturers recognize and consistently introduce into their onboard devices. However, individual brands resort to individual, characteristic fonts. Swedish Volvo has developed its own typeface called "Volvo Sans", which is implemented both in the virtual driver instrument and on the infotainment system screen (Fig. 1.18). It fits perfectly into the aforementioned frameworks and characteristics typical of fonts used in all kinds of multimedia device displays. A similar individual solution was applied by Ford in the case of the Antenna font.
Fig. 6. Typeface „Volvo Sans”
Source: www.typography.guru
Digital typography is an undeniable sign of the times, technological advancement of modern civilization, but also a challenge for designers. As typography experts indicate, "the development of new technologies revises our previous perception of typographic communication," adding that "paradoxically, although innovations in digital technologies allow working and thinking in a completely new way, interface designers still have to resort to familiar metaphors." Therefore, icons must first and foremost be, as mentioned earlier, clear and unambiguous, as they replace well-known words, which only required reading the letters, not a thought process to associate a particular symbol with a specific functionality.
SUMMARY
Based on the examples provided, it can be stated that car manufacturers in their infotainment systems strive, with varying degrees of success, to consistently implement appropriate steps and aesthetics to facilitate and simplify the use of vehicles and visually enhance their perception. The multimedia systems themselves gradually serve as an increasingly successful example of the relationship between humans and machines in terms of visual communication and its creation.
Article Author
Juliusz Walasek, MA
WIT Academy graduate
[1] AUX – (auxilliary) audio port, additional input pin.
[2] U. Voelker, Porządek w projektowaniu, wydawnictwo d2d.pl, 2020
[3] M. Bruce-Milford, P. Wilkinson, Znaki i symbole, National Geographic, 2009
[4] A. Frutiger, Człowiek i jego znaki, Do, Optima, 2003
[5] H. Hoeks, E. Lentjes, Triumf typografii, wydawnictwo d2d.pl, 2017
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