Savoir-Faire
UX & UI
Get a behind-the-scenes look at user experience design in DS Automobiles. After the presentation of the professions of UX Designer and UI Designer, illustrated by the evolution of HMI (Human-Machine Interfaces) on DS models and concepts, dive into the secrets of the M.i. 19 Interior Manifesto. A pillar of the extended HMI, this manifesto lays the foundation for user experiences on board future DS creations.
Profession: UX Designer (User Experience)
MARIE JASPART HEAD OF UX DESIGN DS AUTOMOBILES
Marie JASPART - Head of UX Design and Clément PORÉE - Interior Designer
UX Design, in a few words
“My job is UX Designer, with a U as user and an X as experience. My goal is to make sense with the senses: to make sense of the alchemy that is created between users and their car, by soliciting their view, with screens and lighting, their hearing with sounds and their touch with materials.”
Fields of intervention of the UX designer
"I define the zoning of each function for the driver, in the axis of his vision, and for the passengers. At DS Automobiles, access to comfort functions is mainly located in the doors. I work closely with the UI designer (User Interface), specialized in graphics and animations in the screens.
UX Designer is a new profession, with the emergence of new technologies. Each brand has its own style and DS Automobiles has a real ambition on this subject.”
The evolution of interactions and HMI (Human-Machine Interfaces) on DS Automobiles models.
DS 3 and DS 7 (launched in 2022) have integrated the new DS IRIS System interface.
DS 4 is the first model to use DS EXTENDED HEAD UP DISPLAY, the first step towards augmented reality.
The M.i. 19 Interior Manifesto, the Aero Sport Lounge (ASL) concept, then the M.i. 21 Interior Manifesto made it possible to explore the haptic control. This allows to control the functions by gesture, as if the user was acting on a hologram, which accentuates the magical side of the cockpit.
Profession: UI Designer (User Interface)
LOIC BETHEGNIES HEAD OF UI DESIGN DS AUTOMOBILES
UI Design, in a few words
“My role is to make information elegant on digital screens, such as the instrument cluster and touch interfaces. My graphic creations must make you forget the strict frame of the screen, very square, whose size is limited. What is displayed must create a universe specific to DS Automobiles, such as references to the Clous de Paris patterns, which sign the DS identity, and light animations - or Digital Art- which contribute to the Art of travel.”
Since DS 7, we have evolved the patterns into a triangle, symbolizing the pyramid of the Louvre. This shape echoes the Clous de Paris guillochage, from the world of watchmaking, which appears on the interior decorations.
Fields of intervention of the UI designer
“I imagine the graphics of the backgrounds that appear as wallpaper. Since DS 7, we have evolved the patterns into a triangle, symbolizing the pyramid of the Louvre. This shape echoes the Clous de Paris guillochage, from the world of watchmaking, which appears on the interior decorations.
Screen animation represents 50% of my work. On the models of the Brand, they are soft and fluid, with a progressive speed of information display. I also create the digital colors, which harmonize with the interior materials.”
The evolution of UI and graphics on DS models
On the first generations of DS 7, DS 3, and DS 9, the instrumentation screen had three display areas in the shape of vertical pyramids, which evoke black crystal. It was a break with the traditional, round codes of other brands. The videogame typography, futuristic, evoked performance, even sportiness.
With the electrification of the lineup, the graphics of the screens have evolved into bluish hues. The patterns are summarized to the contours of the three pyramids, giving a chiaroscuro effect: the gaps create the forms, rather than the form (full) itself.
With DS 4, avatars are used to customize the information screen. Eight customizations have been created for passengers. Chiseled and faceted horizontal pyramids take the universe of Clous de Paris to emphasize the widgets.
On the M.i. 19 Manifesto, then the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE Concept, information, and light animations – or Digital Art – are projected onto the material. The interfaces have been simplified for the users, who have the settings on two high-definition side screens.
On M.i. 21 Manifesto, the Digital Art on the central transparent panoramic screen is even more advanced. In parallel, the Clous de Paris pattern has become more precise and crystalline. Repeated on each cursor and adjustment button, it signs with the DS identity everything that is interactive.
The M.i. 19 Interior Manifesto:
first link of the extended HMI
Imagined in 2019, the M.i. 19 Interior Manifesto served as a laboratory for the design of the HMI (Man-Machine interfaces) and the interior architecture of the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE (ASL) Concept, which was revealed in 2020.
The interior design of M.i. 19 is inspired by the world of furniture with a wooden dashboard and drawers for storage. It is statutory, and it boasts a Lounge spirit.
The black colour assumed in the interior of M.i. 19, its velvet seats and its thick carpet take up the codes of Luxury. Leather is used on the upper parts of the dashboard and doors.
Luc QUIRIN – M.i. 19 Interior Designer
The extensive and prioritized HMIs
“The first intention of M.i. 19 was to expand and prioritize HMIs. All individual settings can be accessed via the high-definition touch screens in the doors, such as the phone’s mirroring or retro vision. The shared information is projected in the center, on the dashboard, such as GPS mapping, infotainment or visual effects related to Digital Art.” Luc QUIRIN – M.i. 19 Interior Designer
Display of information on the dashboard material
“On M.i. 19, we adapted the projection of the information to the architecture of the dashboard, matching the grooves of the drawers to the exact cutting of the different information areas normally delimited in the screens.” Loïc BETHEGNIES - M.i. 19 UI Designer
The control of functions by gestures
A touchpad located in the center of the cabin of M.i. 19 controls the functions. The user scrolls through the menus, as if on a hologram, at a distance from the projected information.
“Haptic control of functions by gestures is made possible by a camera hidden in the pad and sensors in the central armrest. One of the functions of the UX designer is to preserve the magic of using a cockpit, making the technology intuitive to the user, without the user guessing his process.” Marie JASPART – UX Designer DS Automobiles
Thomas BOUVERET – Interior Design Manager DS Automobiles
The interior design of M.i. 19
"The designers' job is to give meaning to each object, taking into account the service. On M.i. 19, the dashboard surface was not only to be decorative, but to be used for information projection and storage. The size of the drawers is adapted to each object: documentation, telephone… because the automobile is an extension of our lifestyle.” Thomas BOUVERET – Interior Design Manager DS Automobiles
A statutory cabin, inspired by furniture
“We picked up the furniture codes in the vehicle, with drawers hidden in the wooden dashboard and book storage in the passenger door. With M.i. 19, we have made a static object – a furniture – dynamic, keeping the objective of bringing status. The result on M.i. 19 is a timeless interior. That of the following manifesto, M.i. 21, is more modern with its translucent materials, but also more ephemeral, adopting the codes of haute couture.” Luc QUIRIN – M.i. 19 Interior Designer
The future of user experience (UX)
and interfaces (UI) in future DS models
“To illustrate the vision of the Art of Travel, the interiors of our future DS models will offer an ultra-sensory immersive experience with spectacular light staging, unprecedented DS auditorium sound and a unique Digital Art animation concept. All these elements will be orchestrated, like a choreography of the senses, to create an experience of great serenity while being charged with emotion!”
Thierry METROZ - DS Automobiles Design Director
