2022 Hummer EV - User Interface and Drive Modes

automotive concept Drive Mode electric vehicle HUD hummer Interface sci-fi uiux widget

It was truly an incredible opportunity to work with General Motors, Perception and Rightpoint in developing concepts for the main instrument panel, center console widgets and developing the creative direction for the drive mode selector for the new Hummer EV. There were a ton of extremely talented people working on this project and it shows in the final version.

My first design task was working with Perception, a design studio who is best known for their design and development of UI and HUD content for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I worked with them for a couple of months designing initial concepts for the Hummer EV instrument panel themes.

You can find Perception's case study on the Hummer EV here.

Being an electric vehicle, the information available in cluster is reduced to speed and range. No tachometer to create some additional design or movement, so my focus was to make it simple and have space for future content or features.

Below were some of my initial concept sketches.

These sketches were well received and my goal was to create a sci-fi interface that still felt readable and grounded. I then took these sketches and created color versions and mode variants for the client.

My final task for the cluster was to take my design and tailor it to fit a "Stealth Mode" variant. This version would limit the amount of content on screen and create a more simplified driving experience.

The team over at Perception really has a strong grasp of this space and I learned a lot from John LePore and the team. I really felt like they challenged me and allowed me to reach a new level in my design.

"Design for a 'Real-Time' experience"

A few months later, I was contracted with another well known design studio called Rightpoint. They had partnered with GM and once again I found myself in the weeds on the Hummer EV project. This time I was designing concepts for the real-time driven drive mode selector feature within the center console. This feature allows you to adjust the vehicle's settings based on preset parameters of the terrain ahead of you.

For the Hummer EV drive mode selector, I was to create a cinematic yet functional experience while staying true to the "Go Anywhere" theme GM was taking with the new Hummer. My focus was designing for a real-time driven experience controlled by Epic's Unreal Engine, which was also exciting, new territory for both myself and GM.

Below are my initial sketches for the "Go Anywhere" theme.

"Where can't the Hummer EV go?"

After my initial sketches, it was time to take the new Hummer data into context with some refinement designs. We decided that the Hummer EV should be able to literally go anywhere, even other worlds. We placed the vehicle on the Moon for "Tour" (Normal) mode, Mars for Off-Road mode, and "Snow" mode would be on a distant "Winter" planet.

Overall, the feedback was very positive and making the Hummer EV feel "larger than life" was really beginning to make this into something special. Creating a detailed animation as reference for the real-time experience was my next task.

Below is my motion study, which was animated in Cinema 4d and rendered in Octane.

High Resolution Video - https://vimeo.com/538203366

Below is the final real-time version created by Perception.

Here is Unbox Therapy with their review of the Hummer EV Drive Mode experience.
You can find more of there reviews here at their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/unboxtherapy

"This animation just makes you excited to drive."

- Lewis George Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy

The next aspect of the Hummer EV that I got to participate in was the concept design of the Off-Road Application and the Information Widgets within. This was a series of features that lived within the Off-Road app, giving drivers visually detailed information about their vehicle so they could be ready to traverse any terrain with ease.

"How do we visualize the vehicle in the application?"

Below are some initial sketches I did to get a sense of how GM wanted to visualize the vehicle in the display.

These concepts below came from when we found a strong balance between photorealistic studio renders and a modern, yet sci-fi HUD styling.

Below is the final approved direction for the information widgets.

These motion studies were my final delivery for the information widgets. These were then handed off to Perception for final production development, also driven by Epic's Unreal Engine within the vehicle.