We’ve become accustomed to the conveniences offered through our smartphones and tablets, keeping us connected and aware whenever we want. It’s also simplified and streamlined many aspects in daily life. Need groceries delivered? There is an app for that. In fact, there’s an app for practically anything you need to get done.
How do you feel though when you get into your car? Does this remarkable ease of use fade away? Are you frustrated by returning to your pre-digital world? How much interactivity do you want and how?
We are interested in questions like this. The Connected Car has been a growing topic of interest particularly in the last two years, offering opportunities for creating better driving and passenger experiences with relevant traffic information. It also provides marketers a way to gain real-world access to consumer behavior and preferences. In an insightful piece in 2015, Ad Age explores four areas of interest for marketers, such as audio, video, custom services marketing and personalized location targeting.
Elf: Designing for an Integrated Car Experience
One thing we’ve been keen on is the integration of tech in the car dash. Since 2015, our founder Jan Manon has been working on automotive UI design for select automotive manufacturers to provide a more ‘integrated’ car experience in Schweiz. With the upcoming launch of our new Hayden’s podcast this year, we are also keen on providing a seamless audio experience for passengers. We are eager to provide better design and innovative design elements as we bring digitization into the car.
Geneva Motor Show
Since 1905, the Geneva Motor Show has offered an avenue for introducing new automotive design and manufacturing for top models and companies every year. From the buggy-styled Clement in 1905 to Fiat, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Mayback, Ferrari models over the years, the Geneva Motor Show brings together automotive enthusiasts all over the world. This year our engineers were happy to attend. It was a busy 2 week-long event with over 600,000 visitors, 900 new car models and 175 new car concepts and models unveiled from Peugeot to Aston Martin.
Electric Models & Greater Efficiency
This year there were several electric models as well as several manufacturers make the move to all-electric vehicles. Car companies such as Peugeot, Fiat, BMW, Hyundai and others showcased hybrid vehicles and energy efficient models.
Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (above)
Bentley Exp 12 Speed 6e Concept (above)
This is an all electric convertible, showing Bentley’s ongoing switch to electric-powered vehicles, starting in 2018 with the Bentayga plug-in hybrid drive train.
Futuristic Design
There were also some futuristic designs such as Aston Martin’s hypercar, Valkyrie below that is a limited edition vehicle with only 150 units for the road and 25 track-only versions.
Aston Martin's Valkyrie (above)
We also loved the sleek futuristic design of the Dendrobion EV model below.
Dendrobion EV (above)
Some of Our Favorites:
Below are some of our other favorites from the show. This includes a Mercedes Maybach G650 Landaulet wagon, Mercedes GT C Roadster Edition 50 and Aston Martin BB11 - all great for cruising through the city or in the mountains as well.
Mercedes Maybach G650 Landaulet (above)
Mercedes GT C Roadster Edition 50 (above)
Aston Martin DB11 (above)
We're big fans of the DB11 model with a beautiful chassis and new tech integration.
We're excited to contribute and design new interfaces for cars in 2017 and beyond!
