Transitional Trends:
The Analog to Digital Jump

As modern product design shifts from surface driven philosophies to interface based applications, traditional production methods and research have changed accordingly. The influx in graphic and interface designers has proven that this trend will continue into the near future as the physical manufacturing process is forced to find innovative ways to stay relevant.

Although it may seem like a grim future for what was once the glorious days of traditional product design, there is still a strong call for attention to detail and form that remains long after batteries run out. More, now then ever, as menus and displays become more similar and inherently less unique, the way a device defines itself through its physical form ultimately proves its weight as a design artifact.

It is with this mentality that product designers can pull upon their established knowledge and mastery of craft and materials to create designs that are complementary to the spirit that embodies the product. One of the key factors in the relevancy and importance of product design is the opportunity to define an object within the legacy of its brand. As devices and products become sleeker and inherently more difficult to identify, the opportunity to reinvent the approach to modern product design is just around the corner.

With these ideas and values in mind, this automotive information panel project for General Motors was conducted as a research design project addressing the analog to digital transition. Through the exploration of various on and off states, each design was tested through a custom built simulation dashboard with built in eye-tracking software. Each design was based around an adaptable graphic interface that adjusted its readout information depending on the needs of the driver in various states of vehicular operation.